Michael Chandler is not a young man. But the 37-year-old, within little over two years in the UFC, has become one of the most recognizable stars in the UFC’s ultra-competitive lightweight division. While ‘Iron’s record of two wins and three fights in the UFC may seem underwhelming, he has fought only top-ranked fighters in the promotion, has an exciting take-no-prisoner fight style, and has had exciting battles with the likes of Tony Ferguson.

However, despite having fought the biggest names in the promotion and being a former Bellator champion, the fight that he is most well known for is a fight that has not yet happened. Slated to fight Conor McGregor since last year following their contentious ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ season, the bout is still shrouded in ambiguity with no indication exactly when (or even if at all ) they would fight. Amid this uncertainty, and the clock on ‘Iron’s MMA career ticking down, UFC lightweight champion Islam has some advice for Chandler.

Makhachev suggests Chandler move on from Conor McGregor

In a recent interview with MMA Mania, Islam Makhachev was asked his thoughts on the Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler fight. The Dagestani felt that the delay and uncertainty had put Chandler in a bad position as he is in a catch-22 right now having wasted almost two years of his career waiting for him.

A fight against McGregor would be the biggest payday in the former Bellator champion’s career. However, there is the risk that the bout may be delayed until late this year or next year since Dana White has confirmed recently that McGregor will not be ready to fight until at least then. Not to mention the possibility of the fight never happening if ‘Mac’ decides to retire or insists on a different opponent.

On the other hand, moving on from McGregor may jeopardize the biggest payday in his career with the possibility that he never fights the Irishman and thus misses out on his own “red-panty” night. While McGregor has repeatedly stated his eagerness to be back in the octagon soon, there are murmurs that the hold-up to his return has been caused by contractual disagreements with the UFC.

And with both McGregor and Dana White being keen and astute businessmen, there is a very real possibility that the promotion and its biggest star may not be able to come to an agreement if either party feels it doesn’t make business sense. Makhachev suggested that the #6 ranked lightweight move on from McGregor and fight other top lightweights and make some money, which Chandler has not been doing for the past two years.

“You know honestly I hope this happened but in this situation like honestly Chandler look very bad because like how many years he waiting for the for this fight? Every night he go to the bed and have dream ‘I will fight with Conor McGregor’. Man you’re not young, you have chance to to fight someone, make money and after you can fight with Conor again,” Makhachev said. The lightweight champion even felt that if Chandler was to lose a fight or two, it would not hurt his prospects of a future McGregor fight.

Makhachev thinks Chandler should lose another fight

Islam Makhchev sardonically observed that even if Chandler lost another fight, it would actually make him a more attractive prospect for McGregor. The champion is implying that McGregor knows he can’t compete with the top guys in the division and so would be more amenable to fight ‘Iron’ if he feels Chandler is not much of a threat.

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“Because what happened, he already lost last fight, lose one more time, make money and go to fight. Maybe if you lose again Conor see his fight and he think ‘Oh, okay I can beat this guy,’ and this fight happens but right now, I don’t know, it’s a good fight for the fans but for the division it means nothing,” the Dagestani said.

Clearly, Chandler finds himself between a rock and a hard place, damned if he does (wait) and damned if he doesn’t. However, Makhachev’s point about Chandler’s stock rising for McGregor even if he loses his next fight seems to hold true given that the former two-division champion has been out for over two years and coming off consecutive losses and devastating injuries the long-term effects of which are still unknown. And a fight against (what he perceives to be) a non-threatening Chandler would be an ideal tune-up fight.

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