"We might make a pivot" - Michael Chandler discusses conditions to end his wait for fight with Conor McGregor
Michael Chandler has been patiently waiting for this Conor McGregor fight, but that does stop at a certain point.
Speaking on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, Chandler covered a number of topics related to the Irish superstar after 'Iron' recently called him out during a promo on WWE's Monday Night Raw.
When asked if there was a new deadline for this McGregor contest, Chandler said:
"I think every day, it's a moving target. Like I said, if I was having any kind of inclination or information coming to my door step, on my phone, behind the scenes that made it sound like this fight was not happening, yeah we might make a pivot. But as of right now, it's happening. Like I said, we don't have a date but we sure are getting dang close."
Chandler added:
"All of the prerequisites and check marks thus far that everyone said, oh he's not getting back in the testing pool. Oh we're not going to see him performing like he used to. Have you seen the dude's sparring footage? Have you seen the dude's grappling footage? Have you seen the dude, how in shape the dude is? The dude is training."
Check out Michael Chandler discussing his mindset on this McGregor bout below
Michael Chandler and the broader timeline with this Conor McGregor fight
Michael Chandler initially called out Conor McGregor in what was another notable microphone moment for the former Bellator lightweight champion. This came after his highlight reel KO of Tony Ferguson at UFC 274 and McGregor seemed to indicate interest on social media thereafter.
The 37-year-old then faced off with the former dual division UFC champion as opposing coaches on season 31 of 'The Ultimate Fighter'.
Consistent discourse through this time post-TUF was tied to McGregor's status with the USADA testing pool. The mandatory six-month term in the USADA pool for fighters to be in before taking a fight seemingly created multiple hurdles for locking down this fight. The uncertainty permeated throughout all of 2023, and still, the two men were never locked in a cage with one another.
The Missouri native still seems confident this McGregor clash will transpire, but things are still unclear. June has been discussed for the Michael Chandler vs Conor McGregor clash, but the MMA community waits with bated breath for an officially confirmed bout announcement between the two martial artists.