UFC star Michael Chandler leaps to defence of Conor McGregor and brands critics of Notorious’s losses ‘haters’
UFC star Michael Chandler has leapt to the defence of lightweight rival Conor McGregor – branding critics of the Irishman’s losses ‘haters’.
Former two-division champion McGregor suffered back-to-back first-round losses to Dustin Poirier earlier this year.
The defeats have prompted many to question his status as an elite lightweight and claim he’s past his sell-by date.
Three-time Bellator 155lb king Chandler, however, disagrees with that notion, saying during an appearance on the Bussin’ With The Boys podcast: “He’s a different level of competitor.
“And anybody who discredits him because he’s lost fights is just either a casual or a Conor hater, to be honest with you.”
New fan favourite Chandler set his sights on a showdown with the Dubliner after coming up short in his UFC 268 war with Justin Gaethje.
And although McGregor has only won one of his last four outings, Chandler believes the promotion’s first simultaneous two-weight world champion is still a dangerous fighter.
He said: “That left hand can put anybody out on the entire planet.
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“I think my right hand can put anybody out on the entire planet, so I think it’s a perfect fight.
“It’s a different approach when you’re fighting a guy like Conor because fighting a guy like Gaethje, who loves to brawl, is much easier than a guy who you’re really afraid to sometimes throw a punch at, because of the shot that you don’t see coming as you’re pulling your hand back.
“So, you definitely got to be on your Ps and Qs with the striking.
“But then the coolest thing about Conor, too, is everybody always talks about how bad of a wrestler he is, how bad of a grappler he is.
“Chad Mendes took him down a couple of times. He got taken down a couple of times in the second [Nate] Diaz fight.
“He got taken down numerous times in other fights, and he has always kept his composure.
“His mental awareness and stability inside of the octagon, inside the confines of competition, especially with how heightened the stakes and the senses are inside of his fights while everybody in the entire world is watching, is something to behold, man.”
McGregor, 33, is currently recovering from the broken leg he suffered in his UFC 264 trilogy fight with Poirier in July.
And head coach John Kavanagh recently revealed Mystic Mac will return to the mats in a ‘couple of weeks’.
He told Submission Radio: “He’s going to be back in the gym, he’s going to be back on the mats now in the next couple of weeks with me.
“He’s doing a lot of strength training at the moment.
“The guys is jacked. I think he’s coming back as a middleweight (laughs).
“But he’ll be back on the mats with me now shortly and we’ll start off with combat sports training again.
“And, he’s getting some, um… I always have to choose my words carefully here, but look, we’ll start with drills.
“I actually joked with him, I said, ‘look, I’d rather if we just start off with some techniques, some drills, let’s see how you’re going’.
“And he’s like, ‘no, I’m going to do five by five, that’s what I’m coming back to do’.
“And I’m like, oh, great, you know, we’re straight into full combat training again.”
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