Michael Chandler took a surprising stance on Conor McGregor's disastrous return to the Octagon at UFC 329 last weekend.
Former two-division UFC champion Conor McGregor's comeback fight lasted mere seconds after suffering a knee injury against Max Holloway at UFC 329. In his first fight in five years, McGregor suffered a right knee injury after opening up the fight with an attempted spinning wheel kick.
McGregor will undergo surgery on the unspecified injury and is expected to miss at least a year to recover. It was a disastrous and abrupt end to McGregor's comeback after his long road back to the Octagon.
Before McGregor squared off with Holloway, he was supposed to fight Michael Chandler at UFC 303. Just weeks before the event, McGregor withdrew from the bout due to a toe injury that further postponed his attempted comeback.
After watching McGregor's comeback at UFC 329, Chandler scolded skeptics of McGregor who feel the UFC legend ‘quit' against Holloway.
Michael Chandler defends Conor McGregor after ‘quitter' labels following UFC 329
In a recent Instagram story, Chandler reacted to McGregor's disastrous return.
“I would be absolutely surprised, the most surprised person on the planet, if Conor just showed up for a paycheck. Limped in there, and said ‘I don't care', giving you guys one minute, shave his head into a mohawk, do the intros, and just bow out one minute later. One thing he is not is a quitter. He isn't a bamboozler,†Chandler said of McGregor.
“The body is unpredictable, and every fight is unpredictable. If you look at Conor, because I've had a lot of people say why would he do that? He came out like an ‘idiot' and jumped across the cage. Conor always does that. I'm just as disappointed as you guys, because T-Mobile Arena was absolutely electric…and you're talking about the guy that's supposed to be disappointed. But he finally made the walk, showed up, and I believe he wants to fight me. I believe he tried to fight me, and I believe that's how the negotiations went. But other plans were made,†Chandler continued. “And the honor and integrity to stick to it and be a man of his word since he pulled out of that fight in 2024, I think he actually wanted to be a man of his word and see through to putting his name on that dotted line that had my name on it.
“But I know everybody is disappointed, but keep on watching. This ain't the last you're going to see of Conor, and I'm excited to see how it all plays out.â€
While Chandler remains optimistic about fighting McGregor, his recent struggles in the Octagon make a potential bout highly unlikely. Chandler most recently lost to Mauricio Ruffy at UFC Freedom 250 and hasn't won a fight since UFC 274.
Do you think Conor McGregor will fight in the UFC again? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!
A lightweight matchup for the next
Ultimate Fighting Championship card in Paris has been
unveiled.
Trevor
Peek will take on Kurtis
Campbell in a featherweight bout at UFC
Paris on Sept. 5 at Accor Arena in Paris.
Trevor Peek and Kurtis Campbell meet in a featherweight bout at
UFC Paris on Sept. 5
While Peek (9-3) came to the UFC as a highly touted prospect in
2022, he's struggled for consistency, going 2-3 in the UFC and
currently on a two-fight slump. Meanwhile, Campbell (8-1) was also
undefeated when he earned his contract with a first-round knockout
on the Contender Series last year.
He was also a big betting favorite going into his UFC debut against
Danny
Silva in front of a home crowd in London this past March. While
Campbell was leading in the first round, Silva handed the
Englishman his first professional loss with a knockout early in the
second.
The only other matchup slated for UFC Paris revealed so far is a
flyweight clash between Michael
Aljarouj and Fabia
Sintes, with both 125-pounders set to make their Octagon
debuts.
New fight: Trevor Peek
vs. Kurtis
Campbell is set for #UFCParis
on Sept. 5, multiple sources tell me and @MikeBohn. Story
headed to @MMAjunkie
pic.twitter.com/PAzyvXkBwb
UFC Abu Dhabi has a new main event with less than two weeks to
go.
Khalil
Rountree was originally scheduled to fight Magomed
Ankalaev (20-2) in the Fight Night main event on July 25 at
Etihad Arena on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. However, Rountree is out
of the matchup due to an injury. Bogan Guskov (18-3) has stepped up
on short notice to replace the American against Ankalaev.
Magomed Ankalaev remains atop the July 25 Fight Night card
Guskov has finished all 18 of his career wins so far. The Uzbek
light heavyweight is coming off a majority draw against Jan
Blachowicz that marked the end of a four-fight finishing
streak.
Meanwhile, Ankalaev was undefeated in 13 straight outings when he
dominantly dethroned Alex
Pereira to win the light heavyweight title at
UFC 313 in March last year. However, Pereira knocked out
Ankalaev in just 80 seconds at
UFC 320 in October.
WE HAVE A BANGER!💥
Due to injury, Khalil
Rountree is out of the
#UFCAbuDhabi main event.
Stepping in against No. 1 Ranked @AnkalaevM will
be Uzbekistan’s top ranked fighter, No. 10 ranked @BogdanGuskov
18 wins, 18 finishes with 13 in the very first round – Guskov will…
pic.twitter.com/SE2AO9H0Uy
Bryce
Mitchell will become the first active
Ultimate Fighting Championship fighter to take on a UFC BJJ
champion, Mikey
Musumeci.
Mitchell will square off against Musumeci in a non-title clash,
which serves as the headliner for UFC BJJ 11. It will be contested
at featherweight, which means Musumeci will move up a division to
face Mitchell. UFC BJJ light heavyweight champion Mason
Fowler will defend his crown against Nicky Rod in the co-main
event.
Musumeci enters the matchup unbeaten under the UFC BJJ banner after
previously enjoying a perfect run in One
Championship. The five-time IBJJF black belt world champion
(four times in Gi and once in No-Gi) captured the UFC BJJ
bantamweight title before successfully defending it three times.
His four UFC BJJ appearances after UFC Fight Pass Invitational 9
have resulted in three heel hooks and one foot lock.
Meanwhile, “Thug Nasty” has competed in three grappling matches
over the past nine months. In this run, he secured a draw against
fellow UFC fighter Jean Silva
in March and a win over J.J. Bowers, but lost to Landon Elmore via
heel hook.
Mitchell has scored the majority of his 19 MMA wins by submission,
forcing 10 tap-outs. His most recent victory came against Santiago
Luna in June, when he won via an arm triangle choke.
BIG matchups ahead at #UFCBJJ11@MusumeciBJJ
vs Bryce
Mitchell Mason
Fowler vs Nick
Rodriguez ðŸ†
Live and FREE on YouTube | SEP 24 pic.twitter.com/WwEFsl40lS