UFC News: Conor McGregor’s Return Gets Downplayed as Ex-UFC Champion Provides Irishman’s Replacement for Michael Chandler

Michael Chandler is stuck in no-man’s land. The former Bellator champion appeared on season 31 of The Ultimate Fighter opposite Conor McGregor last year. The two were expected to fight in December last year, but the bout fell through. After months of uncertainty, McGregor finally announced that he would face Chandler at UFC 302 on June 29 in a middleweight bout.

However, UFC CEO Dana White poured cold water on these plans, denying ‘Mac’s claim of fighting in June. This puts Chandler, who has been inactive and waiting to fight McGregor for the past year, in an awkward spot. He now has to make a difficult decision on whether to wait even more with the risk of the fight not even materializing in the end or move on with his career and hope to face ‘Mac’ at a later point of his career. Amid this uncertainty, UFC commentator and former two-division champion Daniel Cormier told Chandler what he thinks he should do.

‘DC’ thinks Chandler should not wait for Conor McGregor

On his ‘DC and RC’ show on ESPN MMA’s YouTube channel, Daniel Cormier discussed a possible Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz trilogy for UFC 300 with co-host Ryan Clark. The New Orleans native was in favour of this idea as he felt it would draw in many more fans given the history between the two men than if McGregor fought Chandler.

Cormier even suggested that it would be better for Chandler’s title shot chances if he fights an up-and-coming contender such as #8 ranked Rafael Fiziev or #5 ranked Mateusz Gamrot next. “I’m not saying that there are not valid reasons to take the fight. I agree with you of all the positives my point is competitively he’s going backwards and taking a much bigger risk than he would by fighting [Rafael] Fiziev or one of those other young [guys] like [Mateusz] Gamrot,” ‘DC’ said.

Ryan Clark disagreed with the former Pan American wrestling champion and felt that these fights would be more dangerous for Chandler. He felt that the American should still look to fight McGregor since it would make him a lot more money and give him more of a chance to notch up a win.

Cormier, however, was adamant and pointed out that precisely because Chandler would go into a fight against a Gamrot or a Fiziev as an underdog, a victory over either man would put him closer to being in the title mix.

“Michael Chandler versus Gamrot, [Chandler would] probably be an underdog. Michael Chandler versus Fiziev, it would be very close or he might be an underdog. Against Conor McGregor, he will be expected to win, and you gain more when you beat somebody you’re not supposed to beat,” Cormier added. Both men make good points and that is precisely the problem for Chandler, since this means he doesn’t have a clear choice in front of him.

Michael Chandler between a rock and a hard place

Dana White revealed in a recent interview that McGregor would fight by the end of this year if everything went according to plan. At best, Michael Chandler will have to wait until at least the last quarter of this year for a chance at fighting Conor McGregor, essentially putting his UFC career on ice.

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And even after all that wait, he may not get to face McGregor as his next opponent as the fear of even more delays or McGregor fighting someone else (perhaps Nate Diaz) looms large. McGregor’s suggestion that they fight at UFC 300 has also been a non-starter. Which means Chandler now faces a very difficult choice: to wait for the biggest payday of his career by far at the risk of it not even happening after all, or lose out on the payday and face a tougher opponent with a higher risk of losing. What do you think Chandler should do? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.

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