Michael Chandler tweets cryptic three-word message hinting at moving on from Conor McGregor fight
Patience has been the name of the game for Michael Chandler. Yet, patience has its breaking point and the American's recent cryptic three-word tweet may be an indication of that.
It's been over two years to the day Chandler called out UFC star Conor McGregor following his spectacular knockout triumph over Tony Ferguson at UFC 274. At that time, 'The Notorious' was still recovering from a fracture to his tibia and fibula sustained in the rubber match against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264.
However, Chandler's electrifying callout didn't go unnoticed and the Las Vegas-based promotion contracted McGregor and 'Iron's services as rival coaches for The Ultimate Fighter season 31. The pair were set to lock horns following the conclusion of the series, but the Irishman hadn't re-entered the USADA drug testing pool yet.
After months of speculation, the bout was officially confirmed for UFC 303 on June 29, 2024. However, doubts about McGregor's availability loomed large, and the UFC officially announced the fight's cancellation on June 13 citing an injury sustained by the organization's former two-division champion.
The latest installment in the unfolding drama was perhaps the straw that broke the camel's back. Michael Chandler recently took to X to launch a series of cryptic tweets, appearing to concur with a fan's idea of a matchup against freshly crowned 'BMF' champion Max Holloway. His veiled tweets spelled out the phonetic alphabets comprising the acronym 'BMF':
"Blessed Man Forever."
"Bravo. Mike. Foxtrot."
Check out the tweets below:
UFC lightweight advises Michael Chandler to move on from the Conor McGregor fight
UFC 303 underwent major alterations after the highly anticipated return of Conor McGregor was stalled due to an injury. His opponent, Michael Chandler was excluded from the final billing that now pits a rematch between Alex Pereira and Jiri Prochazka as the marquee attraction.
The MMA community at large has been lobbying for 'Iron' to move on from the fight against McGregor. Most recently, UFC lightweight contender Renato Moicano weighed in on the developments in a recent episode of the ‘Show Me The Money’ podcast. He stated:
“I think he (Michael Chandler) should walk away. And now they say, it’s two months, it’s not going to be two months brother, it’s not going to be f**king two months. I think he is out for a year, right?”
Moicano went on to state that Chandler has enough options at his disposal to choose from, even throwing his name in the hat for a potential showdown in the future.
Check out Moicano's comments below (1:00:48):