SPORT NEWS: Conor McGregor suspicions rise as Michael Chandler shares true feelings.giang

Michael Chandler expects Conor McGregor to make a UFC comeback and insists the pair will finally have their day in the sun.

The 38-year-old shares a heated history with the former lightweight and featherweight champion, having coached against the ‘Notorious’ one during the 31st season of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) last year. Throughout the season, McGregor led a group of rising stars from the regional circuit. At the same time, Chandler trained a team of fighters who had previously been in the promotion but were later cut.

Brad Katona, Kurt Holobaugh, and Cody Gibson from Team Chandler emerged as winners, earning UFC contracts. And fans anticipated a face-off between the Irishman and ‘Iron’ Michael due to the tension that built up during filming, which infamously peaked when McGregor pushed his rival in the face.

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Regrettably, McGregor didn’t join USADA’s rigorous testing pool in time to provide the show with the grand finale it deserved. However, Dana White, Hunter Campbell, and Sean Shelby eventually announced that the two would face off in the Octagon on June 30, 2024, headlining UFC 303 to conclude International Fight Week.

Fight enthusiasts were left feeling let down when McGregor withdrew from the match during its build-up, blaming a broken pinky-toe for his absence. Chandler, naturally, had taken significant time off from the Octagon to train and ready himself for McGregor’s return – only to be disappointed at the last minute by his adversary, reports the Mirror.

In an exclusive interview with Mirror Fighting, when asked about his feelings regarding being left in the lurch at the last moment by McGregor, Chandler shared: “The fight that never happened, what could have been, yeah. I would be lying to you if I didn’t say that it was a tough moment, but overall, if people can look at their lives and realise that all the bad things that have happened to them usually work out for their good if they continue to stay diligent and work hard and believe.

“Every single bad thing in my life, every single setback in my life, every single loss in my life has always turned out to be a good thing at some point. You look back and say, ‘Okay I’m able to learn X, Y, and Z because of it. I was able to grow as a human being, I’m in a great spot’.

“But during the process it was tough. Being the guy on the other side of the headlines with Conor McGregor is tough because he is so up and down and says a lot of things and he’s always in the media. Then you’ve got the fans weighing in, the media weighing in, it was an interesting process but I handled it pretty darn well compared to how most would have.”

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Stepping up to the plate, Alex Pereira filled in on short notice and emerged victorious over Jiri Prochazka, setting the stage for a light-heavyweight title bout with Jamahal Hill – a clash he later conquered. Even so, Chandler clings to the idea of squaring off against the Notorious one day, foreseeing McGregor’s return to the octagon regardless of his hiatus since his 2021 defeat to Dustin Poirier, where he sustained a leg injury.

Chandler added: “I still believe Conor comes back at some point, and when he does, that road goes through Nashville, Tennessee, and Michael Chandler. We have to finish TUF 31, we have to get a fight poster that actually comes to fruition for a fight, we have to get a contract that actually comes to fruition for a fight but either way if the fight with Conor never happens, I am completely content – I wish him well.

“But I have a sneaky suspicion Conor does not want to sail off into the sunset the way he has right now. He wants to come back and needs to come back for Conor McGregor’s legacy.” Now, all eyes are on Chandler as he readies himself for a rematch with old adversary Charles Oliveira in UFC 309’s co-main event at Madison Square Garden this Saturday night.

Oliveira and Chandler first clashed in the same venue back in May 2021 for the vacant lightweight UFC title. With high hopes, the American’s aspirations were crushed in round two by his Brazilian adversary’s devastating left hook. Reflecting on their upcoming rematch, Chandler confessed: “I’m fighting a guy that I’m familiar with, a guy that I’ve already lost to, a guy that shattered my dreams.

“So this is a perfect way to right a wrong and get some revenge. I respect the heck out of Charles Oliveira but I’m excited to go out there competing against him and not just compete against him, but beat him on Saturday night.”

When discussing what he took away from his previous defeat by Oliveira, Chandler shared: “When you’ve got history with a guy, when you’ve lost to a guy. I’d much rather be the guy who lost the last fight in a rematch than the guy who won. I feel like all the pressure is on him to beat me again.

“And the difference between he and I is that I only had two and a half minutes of cage time – two and a half minutes of UFC Octagon time – at the time in which I fought Charles Oliveira. I knocked out Dan Hooker after two and a half minutes, got thrust into a new training camp for a May fight after fighting in late January

“So I didn’t have a lot of time to grow, didn’t have a lot of time to learn who I was and continue to build inside of the UFC. So more patient, more calculated, still violent, still fast action. I’m gonna be quick but not in a hurry, I’m gonna be fast but not in a rush, and I’m gonna systematically and surgically break this man down until he looks for the exit sign, and I get my hand raised by a dominant finish.”