Conor McGregor’s Real Reason of Avoiding Lightweight and Welterweight Return in UFC 302 Gets Scrutinized Following Major Leg Injury

It seems the hour is nigh for Michael Chandler to finally get his hands on Conor McGregor. Although it has not been confirmed by the UFC, ‘Notorious’ announced on New Year’s eve that he will be fighting Chandler on June 29, at 185 pounds.

This, of course, is 30 pounds heavier than the 155-pound lightweight division Chandler fights and is ranked at. However, in a recent interview, the former Bellator champion seemed unfazed at the prospects and broke down why he has no reservations at fighting at middleweight and how he doesn’t think it will be an advantage for the Irishman.

‘Iron’ thinks Conor McGregor wanting the fight at 185 is a power trip

In an interview with TMZ Sports on YouTube, Michael Chandler was asked whether he would indeed fight Conor McGregor at 185. The 37-year-old said, without hesitation, said that he was willing to face ‘Mac’ at middleweight. He felt McGregor wanted to fight at middleweight due to petty reasons.

“I would definitely fight him at 185 pounds. If you look at how the whole thing played out, I like to say Conor wouldn’t want it to be at 155 because he wants everybody to believe that he’s bigger than he actually is,” Chandler said.

Chandler also said that McGregor was trying to put on an aura that makes him seem bigger than he actually is. He opined that ‘Notorious’ did not want the fight at 170 pounds because that is what Chandler originally wanted and the Irishman could not let him have what he wanted as he wanted to be the one holding all the cards.

“That’s the aura of Conor: bigger than he actually is; to build this big mystique. And it’s tough for him to say 170 because if you remember I was the guy who called him out at 170. So, therefore, I’m not the guy who does what I’m told. I’m the guy who got what I wanted, right?” he added. Further, he also addressed concerns that McGregor might have an advantage over him.

Chandler feels weight would not be an important factor in their fight

Chandler reminded the interviewer that Conor McGregor had actually started his career at the 145-pound featherweight division, while he had always been fighting at lightweight for almost all of his career. ‘Iron’ pointed out that since McGregor and he naturally weighed within a few pounds of each other, he was happy to see McGregor at any weight class he wanted. He was also confident that ‘Mac’ would not have the same speed and agility that he does at lower weight classes, another point of advantage for him.

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“I’m cool with whatever weight. The way I see it, Conor and I are within a couple pounds of each other, so it doesn’t matter if we cut weight all the way down to 155 we fight at 170 or we fight at 185. We’re the same size guys,” Chandler said. What do you think about Conor McGregor wanting his fight against Michael Chandler to be at middleweight? Let us know in the comments.

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