Conor McGregor is ready to return to UFC, but communication with the organization has been difficult and there is no set date for his next fight, while Michael Chandler is waiting to fight McGregor upon his return, despite the potential lack of significance in beating McGregor at this stage in his career.
Conor McGregor, the Irish MMA superstar, is all set for a comeback. But, there’s a hitch. His communication with UFC has hit a roadblock in recent months. No one knows when he’ll be back in the ring.
Meanwhile, Michael Chandler is in the wings, waiting for his fight. He was signed to welcome McGregor back to the octagon. But he’s made it clear – he won’t fight anyone until McGregor is back.
Chandler’s been inactive for nearly two years now. His anniversary of inactivity is coming up in November.
UFC welterweight Matt Brown gets it. He understands why Chandler is waiting. Fighting McGregor could mean a huge payday. After all, McGregor is the biggest draw in the history of the sport.
But Brown has a word of caution for Chandler. Beating McGregor in 2024, or whenever they fight, might not mean much in the grand scheme of things.
“Michael Chandler’s been waiting for the red panty night for [two] years,” Brown said on The Fighter vs. The Writer. He wonders, if Chandler won against McGregor, would it make him a star? Would anyone even care?
Brown recalls when Nate Diaz beat McGregor. It was special. Diaz had only two weeks’ notice, and he did it. But if Chandler did it, Brown doesn’t think it would impress anyone.
Remember when McGregor demolished Eddie Alvarez? That was eight years ago. Since then, McGregor has only competed four times in the UFC. He’s had a 1-3 record and a gruesome broken leg that sidelined him for nearly three years.
Brown likens Chandler beating McGregor to Jake Paul’s upcoming fight against former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson. “He goes out and beats Mike Tyson, he’s getting that name power, but you’re beating a f****** 57-year-old man. Get out of here.”
McGregor is nearing his 36th birthday. Brown questions whether his name power alone makes a fight intriguing. Chandler has bet nearly two years of his career on the fact that beating McGregor still means a lot.
“I think even if he fights Conor, even if he beats Conor, I just wonder if it’s going to be the lottery ticket that it would have been a few years ago,” Brown said. He’s leaning towards McGregor never fighting again.
“When [Conor] says things like [he’s anxious to return], it gives me a little bit of [hope], not 100 percent, now it’s like 90 percent he’s not fighting again. I don’t know. It’s just lost so much interest. I know after this movie, he comes back and fights, the mainstream would have a lot of interest in it. Everybody’s going to watch it but if you go beat him it’s like what did you do? I just don’t feel like anybody would be that impressed.”
A lot has changed in McGregor’s absence. New fighters have emerged as top contenders. So even if he beats Chandler, the path back to the top of any division isn’t an easy road to travel.
Brown believes McGregor will struggle to topple most athletes currently in the top 15 rankings at either lightweight or welterweight. That’s where he’s most likely to compete when he returns.
“I would pick [Benoit Saint Denis], I would pick Drew Dober to beat him,” Brown said. “[Renato] Moicano I think would beat him easy — maybe not easy, but I think it would be a good matchup for Moicano. Moicano, he’s that guy that on the right night, he could beat anybody in the division. I think he could be a champion on the right night. He seems to have off nights, too.
“He’s in a killer division. 155 and 170. You’ve got a f****** murderer’s row up there. Even at 170, like Neil Magny would beat him. Neil’s what [ranked] 14 or 15?”
Despite all this, Brown hopes that McGregor takes his return to action seriously. He wants him to put his considerable resources into transforming himself back into the same fighter who once ranked among the pound-for-pound best in the sport. He’s not betting on that happening, but there’s a world where he could see McGregor coming back with a vengeance.
“If Conor takes it serious, Conor gets healthy, stays off the fun stuff, isn’t drinking or partying or doing whatever he’s putting in his body and he takes it serious, I think all this talk goes out the window,” Brown said. “He still has the talent to beat just about anybody in those divisions. I just don’t see him taking it seriously.
“We don’t even know what to believe with what he says. He says all kinds of crazy stuff but if he is still training to some extent, even if in and out, and keeping at least a little bit sharp, he is that guy. He could come back and surprise everybody, look amazing, pull off another Eddie Alvarez moment. He’s a f****** athlete. He’s a great fighter, great eyes, great reactions, so he could just surprise everybody, too. Surprise us by even fighting again in the comeback and look great. I kind of hope that’s what he does, but I don’t think he will.”
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