Monday sees Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler come face-to-face for the first time since they coached The Ultimate Fighter.
From that point, it was a long time before their fight was official for UFC 303 on June 29, so both men have had a long time to think about one another.
On the series itself, things remained fairly relaxed between them for the most part as Chandler didn’t get too heated or bothered by anything McGregor said.
The only time that there was clear tension was when McGregor’s team weren’t doing well in the tournament, so “The Notorious” was particularly on edge.
Daniel Cormier, however, believes that Chandler needs to flip the script.
Cormier Says Chandler Should Stand Up For Himself More At UFC 303 Press Conference
During a recent episode of the Good Guy / Bad Guy show on ESPN MMA, Cormier said that he needs to see something different from Chandler at the press conference.
In his opinion, “Iron” Mike made it too easy for McGregor to call the shots and run the show during their interactions on TUF.
He called for Chandler to put his foot down at the 3Arena in Dublin, even if it means exaggerating his own worth in this fight.
Not letting the Irishman control the narrative over how important Chandler is to this fight will not be easy, but it’s what “DC” wants to see from him.
“Conor grabs him by the face and Conor’s almost like talking down to Michael the whole time. It is on Michael Chandler to go to Ireland, show Conor McGregor, like, ‘Hey, I understand who you are, I recognize that you are the A-side of this deal, but you do not get to treat me as I’m just a supporting cast. This thing doesn’t go off without me.’ Maybe that is overstating his value, it might be but overstate your value, make this man realize that he cannot treat you as a subservient, like, ‘I’m not there to be the guy that elevates you.'”