Michael Chandler Still Wants Conor McGregor After UFC 281
“Come back to your first love Conor, step inside the octagon with me.” -Michael Chandler
Michael Chandler’s luck in Madison Square Garden has not changed as he went 0-3 at UFC 281. However, with two of those losses in the UFC, he was still one-half of the best fights of the year. He was the man who was finished in a fight that would have been hard to score considering how both men fought, but that’s how Chandler always fights.
Getting submitted by Dustin Poirier left Chandler disappointed naturally but ever the competitor, he still wants to lure Conor McGregor back to the UFC. It’s a fight he mentioned a few times during fight week and now that the fight with Poirier is over, it is a fight that makes sense for both parties according to Chandler.
In the post-fight press conference, Chandler said, “ I think at this point, he comes back and he looks at the suitors. I don’t think I’m the easiest fight that he could take but I do think I’m the biggest fight that he could take. I think Conor McGregor stepping back into the octagon does big numbers no matter what. But he and I step inside the octagon we do staggering numbers.”
Chandler has been circling the UFC lightweight title since he arrived in the UFC. The former Bellator lightweight champion has gone 2-3 in the UFC and has quickly become a UFC fan favorite. If McGregor does not try to immediately face Poirier again, Chandler surely would make for great marketing material for the UFC.
Madison Square Garden may not be Chandler’s arena but the six degrees of separation that link that venue with Chandler and McGregor was something Chandler brought up in his respectful call out to McGregor.
When asked if he had a message for him, Chandler said; “We all know that fighting is his first love. Exactly six years ago today November 12, 2016, he became the double Champion and he ‘apologized to absolutely nobody’ and it was absolutely awesome. It was bad enough that we had to compete with Bentleys and Bugattis and boats and 100 million dollar whiskey companies. Now we got to compete with silver lights and the silver screens and bright lights of Hollywood man. But come back to your first love Conor. Step inside the octagon with me.”
McGregor became a double champion by beating Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205 in Madison Square Garden on the date referenced by Chandler. Alvarez is someone that faced Chandler in some of Bellator’s most memorable fights. He is already making fights like that in the UFC and it is hard to argue that with him that he and McGregor could make more fireworks.
