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As of this posting, there remains zero updates on the supposed fight between Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler. As the two coaches of the current 31st season of the Ultimate Fighter, they are slated to face each other at the end of the broadcast as it’s customarily done.
Given all the uncertainty, Chandler is being pushed to take matters into his own hands and not let the fight slip away.
Michael Chandler’s reaction to recent developments
From his end, Michael Chandler did what’s needed. The former Bellator champion recently posted a video of him on social media after submitting samples to USADA. He also expressed concern about the lack of progress.
“You’ve all seen the news. Conor’s not in USADA. 179 days left until December 16, which is supposed to be the last pay-per-view of the year. And comically, USADA shows up at my door. Today. To add insult to injury.
“Where you at, boy?”
As recent reports reveal, McGregor failed to meet the USADA deadline of spending at least six months in the testing pool before getting clearance to compete again in 2023.
Michael Chandler urged to ‘be a little bit disrespectful’
UFC Hall of Famer and former double-champ Daniel Cormier is now urging Michael Chandler to take action and not let the fight slip away. As ‘DC’ explained in a recent video he uploaded, pushing the right buttons may be incendiary enough to make ‘The Notorious’ act accordingly.
“Make it happen, Mike. Do not let this fight fall by the wayside,” Cormier said (quotes by Middle Easy). “Continue to poke. Continue to prod.
“Dare I say, be a little bit disrespectful to get Conor McGregor to fight you because if I know one thing when you insult McGregor, his pride makes him want to step up and take it to you.
“I think that might be the way Michael Chandler solidifies even though that’s very out of his element in regards to the way he usually approaches fights.”
Cormier himself wonders why McGregor doesn’t seem too eager to jump into the opportunity, given how Michael Chandler’s style seems to be a good fit.
“What was the purpose of The Ultimate Fighter? What was the purpose of taking The Ultimate Fighter, doing the show, and taking the fight?” Cormier asked. “One of those holdups is that Conor still, at this point, has not gotten into USADA testing. Michael Chandler for himself, is trying to figure out why.
“What’s taking so long? ‘Get it done, my guy. I want the fight.’ Why does Conor now not want to fight Chandler? Especially in a fight that seems like it’s pretty much tailor-made for him.”
Conor McGregor’s other current battles
Outside of the supposed Michael Chandler fight, McGregor is also dealing with other current battles. The 34-year-old Irishman is once again accused of sexual assault, this time during a Miami Heat game early this month.
Team McGregor has since denied the allegations, calling it a ‘shakedown’ as multiple videos of the fighter already surfaced. In one of them, he was seen leading the accuser towards a bathroom where the alleged incident happened. In another, the two parties were hanging out at a club, supposedly hours after everything happened.
McGregor (22-6) last saw action at UFC 264 when he lost to Dustin Poirier via leg-break TKO. He is on a two-fight losing skid.
As for Michael Chandler (23-8), he is also coming off a loss against Poirier at UFC 281 last November, his last Octagon appearance. He did win a $50K bonus for Fight of the Night.
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