Michael Chandler had waited a long time for Conor McGregor before ‘The Notorious’ found himself drowned in a stew of different problems. Chandler finally decided to redirect his pursuit after getting fed up with waiting for his “red p-nty night”, and fought Charles Oliveira at UFC 309 only to lose the fight. However, his spark has not died down as he has now challenged Jorge Masvidal as the latter indicated coming back to MMA in 2025. “Where you at, Jorge?” asked Chandler on X – in a not-so-subtle reference to Nick Diaz’s infamous callout to GSP – to which ‘Gamebred’ accepted and agreed to fight in April.

However, it looks like waiting for McGregor for two years has left ‘Iron’ in a desperate situation as Jorge Masvidal is the latest opponent added to his project 2025, besides Max Holloway, Islam Makhachev, and funnily enough, Conor McGregor as well. It’ll be interesting to see if the UFC actually books this fight because March and April are usually the months where the promotion goes to ‘Vice City’. However, the 39-year-old Chandler who is 2-4 in his last six seems to be drawing the ire of fellow lightweights, as he’s being accused of clogging the division, because of still being ranked despite an abysmal promotional record.

Among them is lightweight phenom Grant Dawson who will fight Diego Ferreira at the upcoming UFC 311 card in January. While speaking to James Lynch before his fight, KGD doubled down on ‘Iron’ Mike’s resume and expressed angst at feeling disregarded for less active fighters like Michael Chandler. Despite being 10-1 in Dana White’s promotion Dawson was recently omitted from the rankings and this feels unjustified to him. “You have Michael Chandler who is like 40 years old, he’s got two wins and four losses in the UFC. And everybody’s like, ‘They’re the good guys!'” he said, before claiming that ‘Iron’ Mike will never fight for a title again.

He further stated, “This is what pisses me off about it. Guys like Michael Chandler and Max Holloway are too big of names to be fighting people like me, and fighting people like even Joel Alvarez. Like, me and Joel Alvarez, who are like 15 and 16 are not going to get to fight Michael Chandler. So what’s the point of even having Michael Chandler in these rankings? Like what’s the point of even having – like I can’t work my way up. I’m never going to fight past Michael Chandler, because he’s waiting two and half years again to fight Conor McGregor.”

Ultimately he burst out saying, “Like get him out of the rankings, he’s never gonna fight for the belt again. He’s never gonna you know, make a run. His two wins are Dan Hooker in Abu Dhabi and Tony Ferguson on his seventh loss in a row.” Dawson believes that rankings should reward activity and the merit of fighters rather than their legacy and fame. His outrage is not misplaced as Chandler does seem to be on the receiving end of what Tony Ferguson once called “Dana White privilege”. And what about Michael Chandler‘s next fight? Is he going to fight Masvidal or McGregor?

Michael Chandler gave yet another callout to Conor McGregor

The story seems like it will never end. Taking to his X, ‘Iron’ challenged Conor McGregor yet again, posting, “Ring, cage, mat, canvas, whatever you want to call it. All you have to do is step up @TheNotoriousMMA” . This was a reply to McGregor’s post on X where he, among his current woes, and reversion to faith wrote, “I pray for peace in the world and war in the ring!”

After nearly two years of sitting out, in November, Chandler finally stepped inside the Octagon after waiting for McGregor, coming off a unanimous decision loss against Charles Olivera in the co-main event of UFC 309. He has lost four out of his last six fights and the only way out is a big name or big money fight at the twilight of his career. However, the Irishman recently announced that he is in a discussion with the Ambani family to fight Logan Paul in India. It seems like ‘The Notorious’ has moved past Chandler who seems to be continuous beating a dead horse.

Interestingly, the bout between McGregor and Paul might be the reason why Chandler challenged ‘Mystic Mac’ to a fight outside the Octagon. However, since the latter has already announced his fight against Logan Paul it looks like Chandler should move on, take other fights, and unclog the lightweight division for newer talent. Do you think Michael Chandler will bounce back or suffer the same fate as Tony Ferguson? Tell us in the comments below.