Michael Chandler didn’t get the outcome he needed after shedding a unanimous resolution to Charles Oliveira in a Struggle of the Evening efficiency at UFC 309.
The combat got here nearly precisely two years after Chandler final appeared within the UFC as a result of he sat out ready for the prospect to face Conor McGregor following a season spent teaching in opposition to one another on The Final Fighter. Sadly, McGregor suffered a damaged toe again in June that cancelled their scheduled combat and Chandler finally needed to transfer on after it was clear the previous two-division UFC champion wasn’t coming again any time quickly.
Now UFC CEO Dana White says he expects McGregor to return someday in late 2025 however Chandler is adamant that there’s just one opponent he ought to entertain when and if that occurs.
“Conor and I would like to complete The Final Fighter 31 — if he comes again,” Chandler mentioned on the UFC 309 post-fight present. “He both must retire and simply sail off into the sundown or he wants to come back again. So we’ll see what occurs.”
After all, Chandler by no means gave up hope on combating McGregor however he simply couldn’t proceed to place his personal profession on maintain ready for a matchup that had no date hooked up to it.
Whereas the loss to Oliveira is a setback, Chandler understands he’s nonetheless a really marketable commodity with numerous choices obtainable to him.
Chandler particularly talked about former UFC featherweight king and present “baddest motherf*cker” champion Max Holloway as one other opponent that attracts his curiosity.
That mentioned, Chandler nonetheless has his sights set on the McGregor combat, though it doesn’t appear to be he’s precisely holding his breath for that one.
“Max coming as much as 155 [is interesting],” Chandler mentioned. “Conor determining his stuff exterior of combating in an octagon. Determining if he’s going to come back again, when he can come again, when he can get his home so as. These are two nice names.
“The light-weight division is stacked, stuffed with superior dudes. Superior athletes and simply superior people. I’ll benefit from the holidays. About January, I will probably be chatting with Hunter [Campbell] and Dana [White] and saying ‘so what’s on the docket for 2025?’ We’ll see. These are two names that I clearly need.”
