Michael Chandler still wants to welcome back Conor McGregor.
Ever since Chandler signed with the UFC, he has said he wants to fight McGregor as he thought it would be a very fan-friendly fight for the fans. Yet, as of now, it hasn’t come to fruition but even though he’s set to face Tony Ferguson on May 7 at UFC 274, he still believes he is the perfect guy to fight McGregor.
“I want that Conor fight just for the magnitude of the moment,” Chandler told MMA Fighting. “Stepping inside that octagon and doing something really monumental and fighting him in front of all the mixed martial arts eyeballs. I mean eyeballs across the whole entire world. You don’t get a bigger platform than fighting Conor McGregor.
“That’s what I would love to happen if I don’t get the title shot, of course. But July [or] August would be great for me. I will go out there beat Tony in May, just have a little bit of time to recover, and then go right back in there for a July [or] August fight. The timing works out perfect.”
According to Michael Chandler, he thinks it makes a ton of sense as it would likely be a striking fight between two fan-favorites and the winner would get a title shot. Chandler is also highly ranked that should the Irishman beat him there would be no questions he would fight for the belt.
For now, Chandler is just focused on Tony Ferguson on May 7 and returning to the win column.
“I think I’m a great guy for Conor,” Chandler said. “If he comes back and he doesn’t get that title shot, he’s going to have to go through somebody to get that title shot. I think I’m kind of that perfect guy right there, ranked about No. 5. If he comes in and gets a win over me, he definitely gets the title shot. We’ll see. This is the fight business and it’s a business for a reason.”
“We’ll see how the chips fall. All I know is May 7, I’m going to go out there and put on a great performance, and Conor knows I would love to fight him. He has mentioned that he would love to fight me down the line as well, so we’ll see what happens.”
