Michael Chandler moved on from Conor McGregor after a long time of forlorn waiting on the sidelines. Their matchup shenanigans were intense with no dates for the former dual weight champ to fight in 2023 and then an almost fight in UFC 303 remaining unfinished due to McGregor’s injury—this was one hell of a plot that was ‘still a better love story than Twilight.’

Chandler finally decided to move on from his long-time almost opponent and fought against Charles Oliveira at UFC 309. Unfortunately, his losing streak increased from 1 to 2 as he lost back-to-back fights against Dustin Poirier and Oliveira. Now he is off to fight Paddy Pimblett at UFC 314, and the 38-year-old is ready to lock horns with ‘The Baddy’. But did he forget his past rival? Absolutely not.

The 38-year-old had last fought in 2022 and had virtually put his career on hold, waiting for ‘The Notorious’. Their unfinished business from ‘The Ultimate Fighter’  feud is still on hold but might finally have a way to get fulfilled. According to Freak. mma, ‘Iron’ Mike plans to call out McGregor once again after UFC 314. He said,  “I’m going to do my job on April 12 and then I’ll call out Conor again, and we’ll see if he ever comes back. I think I’m 50-50 on it. Maybe it’s ignorance. It doesn’t matter because I get made fun of no matter what; all I know is when Conor comes back, he’s fighting me. I think it’s still a big story even though he pulled out of the fight, which was supposed to be the greatest comeback in combat sports history.”

Chandler recently announced to a fan that he would not fight in bare-knuckle, but he still wants to fight the part-owner of BKFC, nonetheless. In the past, the former Bellator champion was risking his career by waiting for McGregor, losing both time and money. However, in a series of tweets, McGregor claimed that Chandler would be paid 10X more to fight him than he would get for a different fight. “Chandler is getting paid 10x of what his contract states for other fights. This means he would need to fight 10 fights to make what he would make in this one. I’m The One,” McGregor tweeted. 

Then it’s evident why Chandler still wants to fight McGregor even after moving on from the bout. He has fought Oliveira and now will clash against Pimblett but the 10X more money might be another reason for him to still plan on calling out ‘Mystic Mac’. So he had an unorthodox solution for making this fight happen amid McGregor’s new agenda of planning to be Ireland’s president.

Michael Chandler’s plan for the McGregor fight

McGregor last fought at UFC 264 back in 2021 and lost against Dustin Poirier while also suffering a severe shin injury that needed surgery. It’s been 4 years and McGregor has not stepped into the Octagon even once. He is busy with his business ventures of Forged Irish Stout, music label and BKFC. Recently, he also wanted to try his hand at being a political leader. But despite McGregor’s ventures outside the cage, Chandler is not giving up on this matchup.

During a recent interview with Covers.com, he gave a bizarre solution for this fight. He was asked about his preference for fighting McGregor at BKFC. Chandler said, “That would be the only fight I took. If the UFC was on board with it, the UFC gave us both permission, and we both went and did it… Yeah, I would do it.” So the man who said that he would never fight bare knuckle was ready to bend the rules only to fight McGregor— if this isn’t admiration, then what is? He is even going against his beloved wife to have a chance at fighting McGregor.

“My wife said you can’t fight in bare-knuckle, but I am a fan of it,” Chandler continued. “I watch it. I bought a couple of the pay-per-views. I was gonna go sit ringside at the show in Florida before the Conor fight got canceled. So I’m a fan of the brand, but not gonna fight in it.” 

Chandler is already likely going to miss the birth of his daughter as he prepares to face Pimblett. However, ‘you gotta do what you gotta do’ and Chandler is ready to get back on the winning column. Do you think he will win and get to fight McGregor?