Michael Chandler wouldn't be surprised to see Conor McGregor running Ireland before UFC fans see the two of them in the Octagon together.
"We might get President McGregor before we get Chandler versus McGregor," Chandler told Covers in an exclusive interview. "If that happens, I don't think he's going to fight at all."
Speculation on whether McGregor – a former UFC featherweight and lightweight champion – will ever return to mixed martial arts has been percolating ever since he broke his leg in his last UFC fight against Dustin Poirier back in July 2021. McGregor hasn't ruled out an eventual comeback, but repeated build-ups to a possible McGregor return have all dissolved.
Chandler, a three-time lightweight champion in Bellator prior to his UFC stint, coached The Ultimate Fighter 31 opposite McGregor with the two slated to fight at UFC 303 in late June 2024. The fight was canceled just over two weeks before it was scheduled to take place, and was never rescheduled.
Chandler, who will face Paddy Pimblett in the co-main event at UFC 314 in Miami on April 12, is split on whether he believes McGregor will return to action – but has no doubts about his desire to settle their longstanding feud.
"I think I'm 50-50 on it," Chandler (23-9 in his MMA career) told Covers. "Maybe it's confident expectancy. Maybe it's ignorance. It doesn't matter because I get made fun of no matter what, all I know is when Conor comes back he's fighting me."
Chandler wants McGregor to "be a man of his word"
The initial Chandler-McGregor cancellation remains one of the biggest disappointments in UFC history, given the animosity between the two and that it had been built up like few bouts before it – a fact Chandler acknowledges nearly a year later.
"I think it's still a big story even though he pulled out of the fight, which was supposed to be the greatest comeback in combat sports history," Chandler said. "Now it's even double the greatest comeback in combat sports history. Our names will forever be connected."
For his part, McGregor has said that he, too, would like to settle things once and for all with his TUF rival. Chandler says he'll be ready when – or rather, if – that day comes.
"I'm going to do my job on April 12 and then I'll call out Conor again, and we'll see if he ever comes back," he told Covers. "I've got a lot of critics and a lot of people who have made fun of the whole process, who are still gonna buy the pay per view, or show up in person at T-Mobile Arena, or wherever it is, so that doesn't really matter. All I know is, I want to see Conor be a man of his word.
"If Conor comes back this year, I'm fighting him."
Pimblett a "high yield dividend stock" – and not much else
Chandler's focus for the next three-plus weeks will be on Pimblett (22-3 in his MMA career), who has won eight consecutive fights and most recently submitted King Green at UFC 304 in Manchester, England – earning Performance of the Night honors in the process.
That doesn't impress Chandler in the least. The Missouri native has little regard for his Liverpudlian opponent, suggesting that Pimblett has padded his record against inferior foes.
"He definitely hasn't fought stiff competition," Chandler said. "You see some guys come into the UFC and their first fight is against an absolute killer. Paddy has slowly built up his resume and strength of schedule and competition, and the UFC is smart for doing that.
"Paddy's a marketable guy, a high yield dividend stock, if you will. The UFC is a business. They are smart. They know how to put together matchups, and it was only a matter of time before he got a top ten opponent. And now he gets to run into a buzz saw named Michael Chandler."
Chandler questioned Pimblett's lifestyle choices ("'I know it feels great to eat the pizza and drink the beer and get up to 210 pounds with 30% body fat, but the body does not hold up that well when you're doing that,'" Chandler says he once told Pimblett), and questions whether "The Baddy" will have the stamina to compete.
"This is a five round fight," Chandler told Covers. "This is 25 minutes. He faded big time in the Tony Ferguson fight and faded big time in the Jared Gordon fight, a lot of people thought he lost that fight.
"I've been in those championship rounds. I have fought with the best of them. He has fought and faded against much lesser competition."
Could Chandler-Makhachev be next?
Chandler, No. 7 among lightweights in the latest UFC rankings, is a +108 underdog at Fanduel vs. 12th-ranked Pimblett (-138). But the 38-year-old – never lacking for confidence – believes a decisive win at UFC 314 could propel him into the title picture, where a dominant Islam Makhachev awaits.
“I am open to fighting Islam in June," Chandler said. "The way this fight plays out I think I’ll have less than a 60 day suspension, maybe a 30 day suspension, and I could fight again in June because the fight would be June 29 I believe it is. So that's like ten weeks later, so I could jump right back into a training camp and fight for the world title."
As you might expect, there are several fighters between Makhachev and Chandler in the lightweight pecking order – not to mention elite fighters in neighboring weight classes – that might want a piece of a resurgent Chandler, who has lost four of his last five bouts. And Chandler says he'll fight any of them, too.
"All of those names are on the table: (featherweight champ Ilya) Topuria, (Justin) Gaethje, (No. 1 lightweight contender Arman Tsarukyan), freaking Islam. There's a world in which I go out there and emphatically starch Paddy Pimblett. And it's the ‘what have you done for me lately business'."
Chandler on PED allegations: "I know the truth"
While Chandler's pugilistic dance card is decently full for the moment, he's still fighting allegations of performance-enhancing drug use, as well.
Chandler, who boasts one of the more impressive physiques in his weight class, takes the accusations in stride while explaining that Drug Free Sport International – the organization responsible for administering UFC drug tests – is stringent in its testing practices.
"It's mainly water off a duck's back, because, unfortunately, there's no way to ever prove it, right?" he told Covers. "I could get drug tested every single day for the rest of my career, and people will still claim that I've got ‘Dana White Privilege’ and ‘Dana is in charge of the drug testing’, and they can just sweep them under the rug, or they can dilute them.
"I've heard all of the different things. It is what it is. I know that I know the truth. My family knows the truth, my God knows the truth, and that's really all that matters."
