UFC lightweight Michael Chandler spoke to ESPN’s Brett Okamoto ahead of his co-main event feature set for January 23, 2021. Chandler will take on Dan Hooker in what will mark his highly anticipated debut in the company. The fighter came in as one of the biggest free-agent signings from Bellator MMA and injected himself into the upper-echelon at 155-pounds.

Furthermore, the fight card that Chandler will debut on is headlined by Dustin Poirier vs Conor McGregor 2- the grudge match. There are sure to be plenty of eyeballs on the aforementioned event, giving Chandler a good opportunity to showcase himself. Chiefly, Chandler already has his sights set on facing McGregor should both men win out their respective matches.

Michael Chandler dives into Conor McGregor’s mindset

While talking about possibly fighting McGregor, Michael Chandler couldn’t help but give it up to the Irishman. ‘Iron’ Chandler paid his dues to the fact that McGregor’s confidence and mindset were truly factors that made him great.

“I will say, my view of Conor McGregor has changed over the year. Always said he’s better than we thought he was, but he’s not as good as he thinks that he is. I think that that’s still the case.”

“But that’s only because he’s one of the most mentally strong, most devastatingly confident men in the entire world. Definitely across this sport. We as fans or we as his fellow competitors, we don’t give him as much credit as is due.”

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“I think he’s motivated, I think we’re gonna see the best version of Conor McGregor… Of course, I want that possible fight.”

It’s hard to argue with the former multiple time Bellator MMA champion considering McGregor’s incredible track record. ‘Notorious’ has made a career out of shutting down opponents, and it’s easy to see why his game is so impressive. In fact, his first outing against Dustin Poirier ended terribly for the ‘Diamond’ because he succumbed to Conor’s mind games.

What’s more, fans are excited to see whether the second fight over half a decade later will look similar to the first one. There’s no doubt that Poirier has evolved significantly; McGregor has as well. It will come down to who can implement their game more effectively.

Do fighters give McGregor the credit he deserves? Will giving the fighter credit help them in the future? What did you make of Michael Chandler’s comments??