Michael Chandler has been âsupposedâ to fight Conor McGregor for what feels like a lifetime.
Thatâs coming from the perspective of someone who isnât Chandler. Imagining how the former three-time Bellator lightweight champion feels is an entirely different story. Throughout the journey to the present day, Chandler has remained positive and told the MMA world not to feel sorry for him and how long his hold for a âNotoriousâ clash has taken.
However, that doesnât mean that itâs been easy.
Chandler, 38, entered the UFC in a blaze of glory when he knocked out Dan Hooker in one round at UFC 257 in January 2021. Proclaiming that he wasnât âhere for a long time, but a good time,â Chandler used the victory to call out that nightâs headliner, McGregor. Chandler has gone 1-3 in his four fights since that night (23-8 overall) and has been shelved for the past two years come November, waiting to fight the Irishman.
In a recent interview, Chandler opened up about the mental hurdles heâs battled throughout this process.
âHe [my inner voice] does not think I deserve this fight but I do,â Chandler told Action Network. âHe never would have, man, he never would have, and I think we all have that little guy or that little gal inside of us, and itâs okay to have them. I think itâs also okay to open up about it. It seems more genuine, and itâs more authentic to speak about your struggles, to speak about your shortcomings, to speak about your doubts. If you act like you are impenetrable and youâre bulletproof, itâs an unattainable psychology.
âI do hear the doubters, and I do hear the naysayers, and I do hear the haters, of course. We just keep on moving forward, and even though that little guy from that little town doesnât believe that we were created to create this crazy life that we have, we just pat them on the back and say, itâs okay. Just keep on coming. Weâre gonna keep on climbing.â
Although the potential matchup between McGregor and Chandler has centered around the big return of the former two-division UFC champion, it will also be one for Chandler. The difference is that one was by choice and the other recovery, as McGregor infamously broke his leg in his Dustin Poirier trilogy bout.
Well, he also became an âactor,â starring in Road House. Then there was the USADA situation. Plus The Ultimate Fighter 31, and the final nail that was the pinky toe injury before UFC 303 in June. Oh, he also became a part owner of BKFC. Itâs been an active stretch for McGregor when you think about it. All the movement has just come outside the octagon rather than in it.
No matter what happens next in the MMA career of Chandler, heâs left fight fans with more than enough lasting memories and been one of the most entertaining 155-pound fighters since he debuted in 2009.
âI have definitely learned how to silence [my inner voice] more,â Chandler said. âI was a small guy from a small town who was taught to do small things, and I think thereâs just so many people that do resonate with that message, that message of, âMom and dad told me,â or âGrandma and grandpa told me,â or âThe people in my town told meâ that this is what we do â this is the level that we climb to, and we donât climb past that because we are Chandlers, or we are from High Ridge, Mo.
âSo I have continued to climb out of that box my entire career. I think thereâs a lot of people that that story resonates with from around the world. It is part of the human condition. And I think some dragons you slay and some you get really good at pushing into a corner and managing them and realizing that they are your friend. I was mad at the little guy for a very long time, and then once I began to acknowledge him and became friends with him, and realized that there are a lot of great things that I have accomplished and great things that I have acquired in this life because of him. I stopped hating him and just started to embrace him and enjoy the ride. Weâre on this journey together.
Chandlerâs got that dog in himâŚhowever this is his dog in regards to a fight with Conor
All Mental , cmon Chandler, once in a lifetime to pumble and get bank
oh Chandy. This is ur own stupid doing. In 2 years, if you had kept fighting, you would have already made what the Conor fight would have given you. At this point, Conor is barely relevant, Chandy is even less relevant, and if they fight, its not gonna be the huge payday he thinks its gonna be. He blew the last remaining good years of his career sitting on the sideline getting teabagged by Conor
Rent Free
Instead of knocking up his wife and raising his own kid he decided to adopt a black stranger and put all of his resources and legacy into that. Of course he is a mental midget.
Was expecting a Ketamine threadâŚ
