Michael Chandler is quite confident he’ll be competing at the UFC’s historic White House event, whether he gets the fight with Conor McGregor or not.
Chandler looks to return to action for the first time since getting stopped by Paddy Pimblett at UFC 314 this past April. The former Bellator lightweight champion has dropped three straight bouts, including losses to former titleholders Dustin Poirier and Charles Oliveira.
With Dana White saying on multiple occasions they would begin matchmaking for the White House event in the days following UFC 314, Chandler provides the latest update on what he’s heard.
“I think no matter what, I think I’m a shoo-in, I’m a first-ballot choice for being on the White House card,” Chandler told MMA Fighting while promoting his ultimate fitness event on Saturday with Phorm Energy for Super Bowl weekend. “When you have the White House, a card this big and historic, it’s not just about putting on the best fights, it’s about putting on the most reliable guys that you possibly can to make sure they actually show up to fight.
“As far as the Conor stuff, you have heard what has been said publicly. Is that what’s going to happen? We don’t know. All I know is I can control what I can control. We’ll see how it happens. I’m going to stay busy, like we just talked about, going up to the big game this weekend. I’m just going to stay busy, and when I get the phone call, I get the phone call. And either way, I think I’ll be on the White House lawn on June 14.”
Of course, the fight that continues to be discussed is the one that never happened between Chandler and McGregor. They were booked to compete at UFC 303 in June 2024 following their coaching stint on season 31 of The Ultimate Fighter but McGregor was forced off the card with an injury, leaving him out of action for nearly five years.
While McGregor says he really wants to compete at UFC White House for his return fight, White says it won’t be against Chandler, shutting that idea down on multiple occasions.
When asked in his heart of hearts if he’ll face McGregor on the White House lawn, Chandler reacted in kind.
“Man, you’re trying to get me verbally eviscerated by all the MMA fans, and I’m like, ‘Oh, I still think it’s happening,’” Chandler said. “I think that you can respect it a little bit, you can call it delirious, you can call it whatever you want, but until a door is slammed in your face, and that door is locked, and the key is thrown away, you never give up hope.
“So, we’ll see where there’s talks happening right now, and we’ll see how it plays out.”
While he waits for who the opponent could be, Chandler teams up with Phorm Energy, Rep Fitness, and Bussin’ With the Boys for a fitness competition this Saturday ahead of the Seattle Seahawks vs. New England Patriots Super Bowl game — which Chandler is attending. The event takes place at Pier 70 in San Francisco beginning at 9 a.m. PT, and serves as a launch for Phorm Energy’s new drink flavor “Silver Lightning.”
If he doesn’t fight McGregor, Chandler has some ideas of what direction he’d like to go — including a rematch with Pimblett.
“I mean, there’s so many options,” Chandler explained. “I want it to be a big fight that is indicative of how big the White House is, man. I mean, timing doesn’t work out really great, man, but like Max Holloway for the ”BMF” belt, does he get past Charles Oliveira? You know?
“Paddy Pimblett, there’s a whole story there where I took that fight on very short notice coming off of an injury, basically coming off the couch, coming out of the rehab room, and made that decision to make that walk again because I wanted to get back in there. So I was not happy with that performance. I feel like I was somewhat of a shell of the fighter that I actually could have been and should have been.
“I would have said Justin Gaethje, but now he’s got the interim title. I mean, who wouldn’t want to see a rematch of the Fight of the Year 2021 and me and Justin Gaethje just absolutely duking it out? But he is in a different position right now where he’s the interim champ and he’s definitely getting the title shot next. So anyone who is hungry, and anyone who can get me close to that title, I still believe I got a lot of tread left in the tires. You can’t base a guy’s abilities based on his last performance necessarily, so we’ll see.”
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