“…or He’s Not Going to Win the Fight…”: UFC Legend Hands Out the “Perfect” Roadmap for Conor McGregor if He Wants to Beat Michael Chandler

UFC legend Chael Sonnen has sparked yet another debate, this time – it’s Conor McGregor on the radar. The analyst gives his prediction on the upcoming bout between Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler at The Ultimate Fighter-S31. The UFC legend had made headlines after he revealed the ‘uncertainty’ around the much-hyped bout.  While speaking to his fans, Sonnen revealed what he thinks is the only way the ‘Notorious’ fighter could ever beat Chandler – and yet another debate ensues.

In a recent episode of ‘Beyond the Fight’, Sonnen talks about Conor McGregor’s much-awaited return to the ring. Since his injury back in 2021, McGregor has seen many highs and lows, on the road to his comeback. The Irishman’s conflict with USADA certainly scathed some of the enthusiasm surrounding the event. Now, the situation has improved as McGregor is ready to enter the USADA testing pool. This allows the UFC to proceed with the bout.

Chael Sonnen’s bold prediction: The only ‘roadmap’ to Conor McGregor’s victory

Digging into his bag of opinions, Chael expressed his concerns about McGregor facing the well-conditioned Chandler. The UFC legend feels that Chandler, who’s been consistently competing, may have an upper hand in the bout.

Further, he asserted the challenges of a prolonged battle, stating, “…this is a layoff against a conditioned athlete[Chandler] who’s been competing the other time. This is a disaster in terms of being a push hard for 25 minutes!”

He went all-out on his predictions of the bout – sharing the sole path he believes could lead to a victory for the ‘Notorious’ McGregor. Pushing his views to the fans, he reasoned, “So he’s either going to go out there put it all into the first round – get Chandler out of there; or he’s not gonna win the fight! It’s as simple as that.”

For Sonnen, there is no such scenario where in the third round, “Conor comes back to win. Or, he loses the first three rounds, but in the championship round, he comes back to win.” Considering Conor has been out of the game for a while – it’s safe to assume that the road to his victory will most definitely be a ‘notorious’ one.

Expert insights: Poirier and Alvarez believe in McGregor’s Triumph

Contrasting what Sonnen said, Dustin Poirier and Eddie Alvarez – both backed McGregor’s win at the TUF finale. Shifting the spotlight on the duo, he forwarded their predictions to the fight. Modestly accepting that they were more entitled to have an opinion, he added – “And they said – not only would McGregor win – they were accounting for the fact that he would not be at his best.”

Taking a dig at the duo’s opinions, a surprised Sonnen further added, “The fact within their analysis that he is going to be a reduced Conor McGregor, coming off an injury and a layoff and that he would still stop him in the second round… I just thought that was surprising!”

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Easy or not – Conor’s much-awaited return to UFC has raised a frenzy of excited fans and pundits. But where does this road to return lead to? Does it culminate in a ‘Notorious’ win? Or does Chandler snag away Conor’s chances of a comeback? Only time will tell! What do you think? Let us know in the comments below!

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