The return of the UFC’s prodigal son seems to have been delayed once again. Conor McGregor has been out of the Octagon for over two years and is sitting on an injury and consecutive losses, seemingly desperate for a fight. Originally scheduled to face Michael Chandler in December 2023, their bout was postponed for undisclosed reasons, much to McGregor’s chagrin and immense disappointment.

Further, there is no clarity as to when the Irishman would return, with contradictory messages coming from the southpaw’s camp itself. Regardless, so eager is the Dubliner for a fight that he has been pursuing another crossover super fight against another boxing icon, and it seems he may have succeeded. However, that has put Chandler in an awkward position and has puzzled Daniel Cormier to no end.

‘DC’ thinks Conor McGregor looking to avoid Michael Chandler

Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler appeared as rival head coaches on ‘The Ultimate Fighter 31’ this year. The two were expected to face each other in a welterweight bout at the UFC’s last PPV event for 2023, UFC 296. However, the fixture fell through with speculation that Mac’s non-compliance with USADA’s six-month rule was the likely culprit behind this postponement.

However, since then, there have been no updates regarding the timeline for the fight. There were talks about a possible UFC 300 April ’24 fixture, but his coach later spoke about a possible July 2024 date. UFC CEO Dana White said in an Instagram Live a few days ago that he was in talks with the Irishman to figure something out after the former champion warned his patience with the UFC was wearing thin.

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Curiously, however, former UFC champion and commentator Daniel Cormier put the blame for this delay squarely on McGregor’s shoulders in his analysis of the matter on his YouTube channel. The former heavyweight champion stated he didn’t think the fight was going to happen and felt this was because ‘Notorious’ no longer wanted to fight the former Bellator champion.

“I’m starting to think honestly this fight, I mean it ain’t going to happen. I don’t feel like it’s going to happen,” Cormier told fans. Which he strongly felt was against the 35-year-old’s interests given Chandler would be a willing dance partner for the Irishman, who, let’s be honest, everyone expects to be far worse than before.

Cormier thinks Chandler perfect opponent for ‘Notorious’

However, he was puzzled as to why this was, as he felt Chandler was the ideal opponent for ‘Mac’ and would put on a show, unlike most other fighters, who would want to knock him out or take him down immediately. “And I think for McGregor this is probably the best fight for him because Mike’s gonna give him what he wants in the fight. No one else is gonna play the game that Conor is gonna want to play, especially when he’s coming back from such a horrific injury,” he said.

“Mike’s gonna play his game, Mike is going to stand with him. Mike is going to strike with him, Mike is not going to to wrestle him all that much. I don’t know that there’s a better fight for him. So I don’t know why he continues to play him off like he doesn’t want it. I don’t get it,” he added.

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‘DC’s words take on more significance since there are indications ‘Notorious’ is close to finalizing a boxing match in Saudi Arabia, possibly against Manny Pacquiao early next year. This means the 37-year-old Chandler would be left in limbo until at least the latter half of next year when he could have been fighting top-ranked opponents to get closer to a title shot. Financially, of course, the McGregor fight will most likely be the most money Chandler makes in the UFC by far.

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