UFC lightweight contender Michael Chandler evidently isn’t worried about increasing the pressure on him to perform well next weekend.
“Iron” will feel the Octagon floor beneath his feet for the first time in over two years on Nov. 16, when he co-headlines the UFC 309 pay-per-view inside New York City’s Madison Square Garden.
The former three-time Bellator champion spent 2023 and much of this year awaiting a planned showdown with Conor McGregor, whom he coached against on The Ultimate Fighter.
After plenty of rumored fight dates and one officially booked one passed by without the pair meeting inside the cage, Chandler finally decided to move on. That decision has left him with a chance for redemption opposite Charles Oliveira.
When the pair first met, “Do Bronx” mounted a memorable comeback to capture the then-vacant lightweight crown at UFC 262 in May 2022. 30 months on, the Kill Cliff FC standout is promising to avenge that result with a never-before-seen display.
“What you will see Nov. 16 will be something you have never seen from me,” Chandler wrote on X. “Something exceptional. Something mind blowing. Champ in 2025. #ufc309“
While both Chandler and UFC CEO Dana White haven’t ruled out revisiting the McGregor matchup in 2025, hopes of the Irishman making a return to the Octagon appear to be dwindling with every public appearance the former two-division champion makes.
And should “Iron” have his hand raised next weekend, he expects to be sitting behind Arman Tsarukyan as next in line for a shot at Islam Makhachev’s lightweight crown.
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