Former UFC double champion, Conor McGregor has been eyeing for a return inside the octagon since last year. However, due to quite a lot of circumstances, the Irishman hasn’t been able to make his return inside the cage. However, his delayed return has affected not just him but another fighter, Michael Chandler.

Conor McGregor’s opposing coach for The Ultimate Fighter season 31, Michael Chandler hasn’t fought since his loss against Dustin Poirier back in November of 2022. Many have speculated that Chandler is holding out to fight McGregor for the big paycheque. Here is what lightweight prospect MarQuel Mederos had to say about it.

MarQuel Mederos on Michael Chandler holding out for Conor McGregor fight

In a recent interview with “InsideFighting”, lightweight Prospect, Marquel Mederos gave his take on Chandler holding out for the McGregor fight. On whether he would hold out like Chandler had, he claimed that it depended on where a fighter is in his career. He stated, “ don’t want to wait that long right, because time was limited but on the back end of your career, yes, Time is limited but the paydays are more so you got to capitalize on what you can and I understand why he wants to wait.”

“Them motherf***er might want to wait three years to fight because that might be one of the last paycheques he gets. But if it’s huge enough, you change the trajectory of family’s life for the rest of the year.” Said Mederos.

He then went on to say that given Chandler’s age at 37 right now, it was understandable for “Iron” to want to wait out a couple of years to get the big paycheck. He said, “Just because you already have the miles on your body. Why not? Wait a couple more years and get an even bigger paycheck?”

Mederos seems quite logical with his answer, especially given how much damage Chandler took in his fights against fighters like Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje. Despite the uncertainty surrounding the McGregor Chandler still claims to be hopeful.

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“Iron” claims to still be hopeful for the fight against “The Notorious”

In a podcast episode of “Bussin’ with the Boys”, Chandler, despite the uncertainty surrounding his fight against the Irishman, still claimed that he was hopeful for the fight. Despite people warning him of getting passed over, he still believes that his fight against “The Notorious” would take place.

“I’m thinking, man, I am going to look like a big dummy if this thing doesn’t ever happen…. But ultimately, man, when you feel it in your heart, in your gut, you just got to roll with it,” said Chandler.

Given all the uncertainty surrounding the matchup between Michael Chandler and Conor McGregor, how likely do you think the fight will take place? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.

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