Conor McGregor looks to have an open path to the Lightweight Title once again, as Khabib Nurmagomedov retired from MMA after his UFC 254 title defense against Justin Gaethje. While the belt hasn’t formally been vacated yet, it is only a matter of time before that happens. This has generated a five-man title picture to replace Khabib.

Justin Gaethje, Dustin Poirier, and Conor McGregor are all former Khabib opponents that still have a claim at the shot. Along with them, we have Tony Ferguson, who infamously never fought Khabib. And after all of that, there is Michael Chandler. Chandler served as the alternate for the Khabib-Gaethje fight at UFC 254, just in case one of them couldn’t make the walk.

Chandler has called Gaethje out for a fight, and taken a shot at Conor McGregor in the process, saying the Irish superstar should be the alternate for their fight.

Due to the open title picture in the Lightweight division, these social media barbs towards each fighter will likely continue. Khabib retiring has unleashed a different monster, but let’s see how it turns out.

Conor McGregor skipping Dustin Poirier for Michael Chandler?

Conor and Dustin’s fight has not been signed, even though the fighters verbally agreed. Considering that Khabib is leaving the division now, both men may want to make a play for the title. This could include their bookings being changed to accommodate other contenders. Chandler already called out Gaethje.

Chandler asking Conor to be an alternate is just him trying to stir the pot by naming another contender. One could expect shots at Tony Ferguson, but obviously, Conor is a much bigger fight. However, many people will ask whether Chandler has done enough to be in this conversation, considering he is still a promotional newcomer. Khabib had dismissed him as a title contender prior to his retirement.

For Conor, a fight against Chandler may be the safest from an in-cage perspective, but the least attractive from a marketing standpoint. There are already storylines for Conor with Gaethje, Poirier, and Ferguson, so him returning against one of them would be the safe bet.

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