Michael Chandler has called for a fight against Conor McGregor since the day he signed with the UFC and now he’ll get his wish.
The former Bellator lightweight champion will face off with McGregor while coaching The Ultimate Fighter 31. They’ll then clash in what is likely to be the most important fight in 2023,, though a date and exact location have yet to be decided. Although there is still much time before McGregor and Chandler meet in the octagon, Chandler has an idea of what to expect.
“Conor and I both start extremely fast,” Chandler told ESPN. “That cage door shuts. Bruce Buffer calls us. The bell rings and we try to get to the middle of the octagon to force the other man to take a step backwards.
“Conor more in a larger, wider, take-up-more-space stance, to kind of project that domineering spirit of himself. Me more like a missile coming at you, making you feel my presence right away, I want to get my hands on you.”
While he commends McGregor’s defense – the Irish superstar will slip punches and then deliver a blistering counter strike of his own – Chandler is fully confident he’ll eventually land on target, and it only takes one shot to end the fight.
” If he hits the button and lands one, it will be rough for him. If I land one on the button, it’s going to be a rough night for him, but which one of us can do it?” Chandler said.
” I’m going get in his face and make him walk backwards. He’s going to feel my presence from the very beginning of the fight and then from there wherever the fight takes us. If I want to pick him up and put him down, I can pick him up and put him down and put a beating on him and get a submission that way. I believe I finish Conor in the second round. This is my “Mystic Mike” take on it, which I will share later in the year, .”
On paper, Chandler appears to have a major advantage with his wrestling and grappling, but ideally that’s not the path to victory he would prefer. That’s another reason why he expects to trade bombs with McGregor until one of them falls over.
” I always see a huge overhand right and a left hook.” Chandler stated. That’s what I want to do every time. It’s also the shot that I have seen guys put down many times during my career. I can see it in practice, as well as in the game.
” I believe I have worn him down and hit a huge shot in round two and took him out .”
Before he’ll get to throw a single punch against McGregor in the cage, Chandler first has to deal with him for nearly two months as they coach on The Ultimate Fighter.
This gives McGregor ample time to possibly chip away at Chandler via mental warfare. It is a huge weapon for “The Notorious”, since the day he signed the UFC contract in 2013..
As confident as he seems in the results of their fight, Chandler won’t even attempt to detail what he anticipates when it comes to McGregor’s behavior because he honestly has no idea what to expect.
“Can’t tell you what’s going to happen, what Conor’s going to show up,” Chandler said. “We’ve seen a couple different versions of Conor as well and I think Conor somewhat tailors himself, his personality and his ability and willingness to engage in those verbal altercations based on his opponent.
” I could make him the most miserable person we have ever met, or I could make Conor a more professional businessman. We don’t have .”
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McGregor’s friendlier attitude has been evident in his recent fights. This includes his bout against Donald Cerrone, then Dustin Poirier. Their rematch will take place at UFC 257..
After losing to Poirier by knockout, McGregor transformed into a totally different person ahead of the trilogy at UFC 264. He became rather personal in his attacks, which included several ugly messages aimed at Poirier’s wife.
For his part, Chandler says there are absolutely comments that he would consider to be out of bounds, but he doesn’t know if McGregor will go that far with him or not.
“There’s a limit to what you can do. Chandler stated. “When a guy has a wife, he’s got kids, family, there’s a line that you don’t cross, obviously. Conor is going to do that, it’s difficult for me. However, me saying this in an interview might encourage him or entice him. We’ll see.”
If McGregor decides to go that route, Chandler admits that might ignite a fight before they actually meet in the cage ever or perhaps he’ll just weather the storm and say nothing in return. One thing is for certain, Chandler promises that he’s ready for whatever McGregor throws at him.
” I fear no man-I don’t fear Conor McGregor,” Chandler stated. I don’t worry about the verbal confrontations. He’s interesting and fascinating to many because he is interested in his subject matter.
“He doesn’t know much about me because he is trying to make fun of me. I’m just excited about it.”
Source: https://www.mmafighting.com/2023/2/5/23586297/michael-chandler-predicts-second-round-knockout-over-conor-mcgregor-thats-my-mystic-mike-take-this?rand=96749
