Following the recent failure of what was supposed to be an epic match-up, Michael Chandler has set his sights on a new opponent to battle. UFC veteran Michael Chandler was supposed to face Conor McGregor at the recently concluded UFC303 tournament, but the Irishman had to withdraw due to a leg injury.
After this information, Chandler tried to draw his opponent out for a rescheduled bout at the UGFC 306. However, McGregor has remained silent on this. However, Chandler is not taking any chances, and he seems to have his eyes on a bigger prize[ Islam Makhachev].
The Russian fighter recently put out a suggestive tweet. “I need new 🎯.” To which Chandler seized the opportunity and responded with a confident response:
“I’ve been 🎯 your a*s for 8 years…good, old-fashioned, passionate @MizzouWrestling beats Dagestani sambo every day of the week @MAKHACHEVMMA”. He also revealed a new twist: “I’ve been offered @MAKHACHEVMMA in October–but if @TheNotoriousMMA little pink toe is ready by Sept. let’s do sphere. Biggest sporting event in the history of sports!!! @RiyadhSeason #ufc306.”
Makhachev was unimpressed with Chandler’s enthusiasm and turned him down. “You are unreliable dude. One tweet from your master and you’ll run away. Champ needs real opponent.”
Notwithstanding, UFC veteran Matt Brown has encouraged Chandler to take the fight as a win against Makhachev, which may earn him a huge rematch with McGregor.
“Why you wouldn’t jump on that, take it right now, sign the dotted line today, make zero sense to me,” Brown told The Fighter vs. The Writer. I can’t think of any reason not to do it.
“Assuming Conor does come back–let’s just assume he is going to come back- Do you think he wouldn’t love to fight you for the title? You could absolutely set that fight for the title, assuming that you win the title, and now not only is it a Conor McGregor fight, but it’s a Conor McGregor fight for the title. Does it get any better?”
“Michael Chandler needed Conor. Now he’s got a title shot. Now he doesn’t need Conor. Get the f*cking title shot. F*ck Conor. Go!”
The battle between McGregor and Chandler was McGregor’s big debut comeback, but he suffered a pinky injury that may be a huge setback for him. UFC CEO Dana White has yet to reschedule a new fight date for the Irishman. However, the promotion is pretty confident in McGregor’s ability to pull views and make money for the promotion. To give himself an edge, Chandler has to face a worthy opponent.
“Take the fight. Let’s say, worst case scenario, you go out there, Islam destroys you, wrecks you in one round, and you think Conor’s still not going to want to fight you? You’re already coming off a loss. Conor wants a tune-up fight. I would never call Chandler a tune-up fight– but that’s what Conor’s saying. He’s like, ‘That is a fight to get me back, it’s a good matchup for me.” That’s what he’s thinking. Whatever Islam does to you isn’t going to change Conor’s mind on that. I don’t think.
“The only thing I can think is maybe Michael Chandler is kind of just putting it out there for us and hoping to bait Conor real quick. This sport moves too quick. He’s just got to take it. It’s insane. …”
“I’m betting Chandler’s already made up his mind and he’s doing the Islam fight and he’s just talking sh*t to Conor now.” Brown continued. “Just kind of poking Conor a little bit, just letting him know Something like that. It wouldn’t any sense not to do this.”
