Michael Chandler wants Conor McGregor at 170-pounds to be ‘his biggest, his baddest, his most dangerous’ version

Michael Chandler wants Conor McGregor at 170-pounds to be ‘his biggest, his baddest, his most dangerous’ version

The ball is in Conor McGregor’s court, but Michael Chandler and Dana White are game for the potential matchup between UFC stars.

The former Bellator champion turned UFC bonus machine in Chandler (23-7 MMA, 2-2 UFC) wants the biggest name in the sport and doesn’t really care what weight class it’s in. After his Knockout of the Year candidate of Tony Ferguson at UFC 274, Chandler got the wheels turning with a firey call out of the former two-division champion.

Since then, UFC president White has acknowledged his interest in the potential matchup, which leaves just one party to come to the table to make it happen.

“I just want the biggest stage possible against the biggest competitor that the sport has ever seen,” Chandler told TMZ Sports. “We may never see another talent, another combat sports icon like Conor McGregor in, not just until I retire, we’re talking for the next couple of decades. … Obviously, there’s a lot of big fights that Conor could take, a lot of big names, but I would love to be the other guy on the other side of the octagon when that cage door closes, and then go out there and make something special.”

McGregor has not returned to action since breaking his leg in the UFC 264 trilogy bout against Dustin Poirier in Las Vegas. While the Irishman’s timeframe for a return is still not clear, that has not stopped Chandler and others from building interest to be the frontrunner for his opponent.

“One thing it won’t be is boring,” Chandler said. “One thing it won’t be is people not tuning in grabbing their popcorn and their adult beverage minutes if not an hour before, making sure they are right there as the lead up happens, as the warm ups are happening. And as the lights go down, and his music plays and my music plays and we make that walk, because I think it could be something epic.

“Not just for me, not just for Conor, but for combat sport in general, for the UFC in general. I just think I’ve been extremely blessed to be put in a position when I came over to the UFC to fight the best guys, and that’s what I said: I’m not gonna be here for a long time, but I’m gonna be here for a really, really good time. I think I’ve made good on that promise.”

If the potential fight is built, Chandler says he wants the former champ-champ at welterweight so neither man would have to suffer through a weight cut. McGregor has now had three fights in the weight class: his back-to-back bouts against Nate Diaz and one fight against Donald Cerrone. For Chandler, it would be the first fight at 170 pounds since 2010.

“I want him at his biggest, his baddest, his most dangerous,” Chandler said. “Looking at him, he’s looking big, he’s looking beefy, he’s looking strong, he’s looking as fast as he always is and at 180-something pounds. Let’s do it at 170. If not, I can always make 155.”