UFC fighter Michael Chandler is waiting for a fight with Conor McGregor, despite not having fought since 2022 and turning 38 in April, with UFC analyst Alan Jouban arguing that the potential payday from a McGregor fight makes the wait worthwhile.
Two key dates are on Michael Chandler’s horizon. Unfortunately, neither of them brings him any closer to his much-anticipated fight with Conor McGregor.
Chandler’s 38th birthday is on April 24. Then, November 12 marks two years since his last UFC match. Time is ticking for Chandler, and he can’t reverse it. But he’s determined to wait it out for a chance to fight McGregor.
Alan Jouban, a retired UFC analyst and welterweight, believes Chandler has no other option. He suggests Chandler might have to wait until the end of 2024 for McGregor.
Jouban’s take? “Michael Chandler, you’ve got to hold out,” he said on The Fighter vs. The Writer. He questions why Chandler would return to a contract-negotiated payment fight against a top 10 contender after waiting so long for the McGregor fight.
Chandler might only have one or two fights left in him. Jouban argues that it’s better for Chandler to stick it out for a multi-million dollar fight with McGregor than to settle for a $100,000 or $200,000 fight with someone else.
Despite not fighting since 2022, Chandler has remained in the public eye. He’s been busy with appearances, interviews, and new business ventures.
Chandler recently showed up on WWE Raw. He delivered a fiery promo against McGregor in Anaheim, Calif. It doesn’t ease the pain of waiting nearly two years for a fight date, but Jouban thinks Chandler is making the best of a bad situation.
Jouban points out that Chandler has capitalized on opportunities that wouldn’t have been available without the McGregor fight. “He did The Ultimate Fighter, got a lot of publicity from that. He was on ESPN a lot doing interviews. The WWE thing, TKO Group coming together looking for guys exactly like Michael Chandler, he nailed that,” Jouban said.
Jouban doesn’t see Chandler as a jilted prom date waiting for a limo that’s never going to show up. When McGregor finally returns to the ring, he’ll be coming off a longer hiatus and a brutal leg injury from his trilogy fight with Dustin Poirier.
McGregor is still the biggest draw in the sport. He could fight almost anyone and still sell tickets, pay-per-views, and merchandise. But he undoubtedly wants a successful comeback. Jouban believes Chandler’s style gives McGregor a better chance to win.
Jouban doesn’t think McGregor will ever be the same. “He’s been away too long. His body has changed drastically. He’s had a severe type of life-altering injury. Guys that have those type of injuries, they don’t come back and throw kicks the same,” Jouban said.
Jouban believes McGregor needs Chandler. “He needs a 38-year-old Michael Chandler that will step in there and step into the fire and go to war with him. They need each other,” Jouban said.
The situation is far from ideal. Chandler has been sitting out for nearly two years while he’s still healthy and ready to compete. But Jouban thinks it’s too late for Chandler to give up and move on to a different fight.
“It would suck at the end of the day for Chandler not to get rewarded with this fight,” Jouban said. “But this is the best possible outcome waiting for a fight for [two] years than any fighter could have in terms of the reward he could receive.”
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