Following a great deal of conjecture, Conor McGregor declared his return to competition. On New Year’s Day, he announced that he will take on Michael Chandler. Normally, McGregor and Chandler were expected to fight in the Lightweight division, but Conor has chosen to return to the octagon in the 185-pound Middleweight division.
With the much-anticipated showdown scheduled for 2024, Chandler has sent a warning to The Notorious. Conor had previously threatened Chandler with a similar blow, saying he would set a new record in the bout.
Michael Chandler explains Conor McGregor’s decision to fight at 185
Conor and Chandler are working hard in training sessions to prove who the superior fighter is on June 29, the day of International Fight Week, as they ultimately decided to square off. The Notorious’s comeback has a twist, though, as he previously used to compete in the featherweight or lightweight divisions but has now decided to take on Chandler in the middleweight class.
Chandler, recently in an interview, decoded Conor’s thought process behind this division shift move. Michael said the main reason is he wants to assert dominance, as he said 170 lbs, Conor had to say 185. ‘Iron’ also suggested that Conor has gained a lot of muscle mass in last three years, for which he has been out of the octagon.
Michael Chandler said, “In his mind, he can’t fight at 170 , because I called him out at 170,” he had to say 185. … He always wants to establish dominance, to make people think that I am less than him, and that’s fine.”
He added, “I like to say Conor wouldn’t want it to be at 155 because he wants everybody to believe that he’s bigger than he actually is right he wants to that’s the aura of Conor bigger than he actually is to build this big Mystique.”
Michael Chandler expects to finish Conor McGregor early
Earlier Sean O’Mally highlighted a Legendary feat which Conor could achieve in his match-up against Michael Chandler. If Conor knocks Chandler out, he will become the first fighter to win by knockout in four different weight classes. The Irishman posted it on his Instagram story, captioning, “Creating history every day,” which showed that Conor is confident in his abilities and believes he can make a comeback with a knockout victory over ‘The Iron’.
In an interview, Chandler revealed his game plan to take Conor down and make him retire. Chandler said that he is confident about winning the fight but is not taking Mystic Mac lightly. He mentioned that he will be cautious in the beginning when Conor will make his powerful strikes, and as time goes on, Conor will self-doubt himself, and that’s when he will knock him out. Chandler said it wouldn’t be an early finish, but he will try to finish it in the second or third round.
Chandler said, “I do yeah I don’t think it’s necessarily going to be too quick, I think Connor as he always does um he’s going to come in very confident. Conor McGregor is a dangerous opponent no matter what for the rest of his life he will be a dangerous man. I think Conor is going to hit me with some shots I’m not going to go down he’s going to then start to feel the waters rising and then we finish him in the second round maybe third round. I wear him down make him second guess himself similar to some of the other fights that we have seen and then I finish him in the second round.”
Fans are eager to see who will prevail on June 29 as both combatants are preparing for the big battle and giving each other warnings to knock each other out.
