Las Vegas – UFC lightweight Michael Chandler continues to play the waiting game with Conor McGregor following the cancelation of their fight at UFC 303.
“For me the last year-and-a-half, since I got the phone call in January of 2022 about The Ultimate Fighter, there was a little bit of certainty there,” Chandler told reporters including Cageside Press at the UFC 303 post-fight press conference.
“Originally it was hey we’re going to fight in September after the show. We know how that played out. We got booked for the following June. Last couple weeks I honestly was just living in it.”
Chandler (23-8) kept his focus on the fight amid rumors and reports that McGregor was pulling out of the fight due to a varied list of reasons. From injuries, to a stint in rehab, to wanting a new opponent there was no shortage of speculation among fans and fighters alike.
“Press conference gets canceled. Luckily I didn’t fly over there. It was just rumors, the rumor mill, people are going to talk people are going to speculate. All the way up to the last moment till I got the phone call Conor’s never pulled out of a fight,” Chandler said.
“Whether it was an injury, whatever the circumstances may be, I stayed positive I stayed training and then got the phone call and here I am.”
The rumor mill has continued with other names being brought into the fold for Chandler to fight either in place of McGregor or before he fights him at a later date.
“We’ve always been focused on Conor. The UFC has a duty to look at other options. There’s some great options out there. A lot of options that you guys have all heard. I love fighting big names, big fights, big venues, big opportunities. I’ve got a lot of options, but we’re still focused on Conor,” said Chandler.
The focus still remains on McGregor and while no date has been set as of yet some dates have been thrown around for the potential matchup.
“A date has not been presented to me, but we’ve got some dates.”
Watch the entire scrum with Michael Chandler above.
