Michael Chandler has not fought since his loss to Dustin Poirier at UFC 281 in November of 2022.
He has spent the best part of a year and a half at this stage trying to answer questions of when he will be fighting Conor McGregor and whether this wait has been worth it.
Everything finally looked to be heading his way until McGregor withdrew from UFC 303 due to a broken toe with the plan to push the fight back a few months so that he can return at 100%.
Of course, fighting McGregor is an opportunity that simply doesn’t get any bigger in this sport but if the fight never happens, Chandler could have missed out on some incredibly significant time in his career now that he is 38 years old.
Chael Sonnen does not see it this way because of the goal that “Iron” Mike approached this fight with.
Chael Sonnen Argues That Michael Chandler Has Still Got What He Wanted Out Of Conor McGregor Without Fighting Him
During a recent episode of the Good Guy / Bad Guy show on ESPN MMA, Daniel Cormier made the prediction that Chandler will fight again this year but it may not be McGregor.
Though some would consider this a big setback for the former Bellator fight because of how long he has waited, Sonnen believes that he has still gained massively from this period of his career.
“The Bad Guy” argues that by being spoken about in connection with the biggest fight that is possible means that he has been able to increase his own stock and name value without ever stepping inside the Octagon.
Sonnen argues that Chandler has been given the McGregor exposure without actually needing to fight him first.
“Michael Chandler, behind the scenes, his number one motivation to fight Conor McGregor, it was not some big huge lucrative payday like so many people think. Michael Chandler was playing a long game, he thought, ‘I match-up very well, Conor’s got the fans, I go in there, I beat him, I leave with all the fans’. Well, he’s kind of there. I mean, in all fairness, we’re all chomping at the bit to see Michael Chandler.
“What I’m trying to suggest for you is it doesn’t really matter. Michael Chandler, I believe, is a top five draw right now and I don’t believe after his last fight that he was. I think all this media, all this attention, the things that are dangling, you and I discussing him, I think he’s actually gone up. I think he got what he wanted without having to throw a punch.”
