Brendan Schaub has pushed Michael Chandler to concentrate on defeating Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz before reentering the lightweight title race.
The UFC revealed over the weekend that former champion Charles Oliveira would challenge Islam Makhachev in October for the vacant 155-pound belt.
Before calling out Conor McGregor in his spectacular post-fight interview at UFC 274, Michael Chandler had first voiced his interest in rematching ‘Do Bronx’ for the vacant title. Iron knocked down Tony Ferguson with one of the most brutal front kicks, but his performance on the mike was just as strong.
The 36-year-old would have to compete against “Notorious” and Nate Diaz during the title match between Oliveira and Makhachev, according to “Big Brown” on the most recent episode of The Schaub Show:
“I figured it out. Fight Nate [Diaz] and Conor [McGregor], make all the money. He’s [Michael Chandler] a new dad again so he has two kids. Make all the f*****g money, take all their fanbase, take all their fame, beat both of them and then go for the title shot. That’s the move dude. I don’t know who his manager is, but that’s the move.”
Conor McGregor is currently recovering from a severe injury, Nate Diaz has one more fight left on his UFC contract, and Diaz has one bout left. The Irishman is anticipated to make his octagon comeback by the end of the year or early in 2023, giving the UFC plenty of time to schedule Chandler vs Diaz first.
A recent episode of The Schaub Show can be seen here:
Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler is a fight Dana White wants to schedule
The Irishman’s return to the UFC is eagerly awaited, but it is yet unknown who the former champion-champ will face.
It needed a particular call-out from Michael Chandler at UFC 274 to attract the 34-year-attention old’s because it seemed like everyone wanted to face “Notorious.” Iron has even promised to move up to 170 pounds to win the battle.
The Dublin-born fighter responded to Chandler in a since-deleted tweet by writing:
Chandler vs. McGregor is a matchup that UFC president Dana White said he’d be interested in scheduling in an interview with TMZ Sports last month:
“I really like [Michael] Chandler vs. Conor [McGregor] after Chandler’s last fight. There’s plenty of fights to make. I don’t know if that’s the one but we’ll see what the landscape looks like when Conor comes back… I’m just saying after his last interview, his last fight, Conor’s ranked No.8, he’s ranked No.5 – it makes a lot of sense right now.”
Since White’s interview, Chandler has remained No. 5 in the lightweight division, while McGregor has dropped out of the top 10 for the first time since 2016.
Watch Dana Whites interview here:
