Michael Chandler wants Conor McGregor to keep his word and fight him on his UFC return.
Chandler takes on Liverpool’s Paddy Pimblett at UFC 314 in April, but believes McGregor should go straight to him if he comes back to Dana White’s promotion.
The 38-year-old was supposed to fight McGregor last June, but the latter withdrew from his highly-anticipated UFC return due to an injured toe.
The cancelled fight meant that McGregor extended his hiatus from competition to four years, which goes back to when he broke his leg against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 in the summer of 2021.
Chandler has Pimblett to focus on for now, but that didn’t stop him from issuing a challenge to McGregor when revealing if he is still interested in fighting the Irishman.
“His road back to the UFC goes through me,” Chandler told Ariel Helwani on Monday.
“It goes straight through Nashville, Tennessee, and Michael Chandler. We’ve got to finish The Ultimate Fighter 31.
“That is the UFC’s sentiment. I think it’s even his sentiment. We’ve Tweeted a little back and forth, he said: ‘I’m a man of my word’.
“Well, if you’re a man of your word then there’s only one guy who you’re going to fight when you come back to the UFC.
“The guy who had a contract with your name on it, the guy who signed on the dotted line and still to this day has never missed weight and never pulled out of a fight.
“So it could be 2025. Could be this summer, could be this fall, could be this winter, could be 2026. I don’t know.”
Pimblett is undefeated in the UFC and will be no easy task for Chandler.
However, should he win, Chandler’s mindset is likely to look back at fighting those ranked above him, rather than someone like McGregor.
Pimblett is five places below Chandler in the UFC lightweight rankings in 12th, but either man would likely be in for a top five opponent should they come out victorious at UFC 314
Regardless of his next fight outcome, ‘Iron Mike’ believes McGregor still needs a UFC return to strengthen his legacy.
“My heart of hearts says I’m not sure for sure, but Conor has to come to his first love,” Chandler added.
“The one thing that has given him every single thing, every single thingy object that he is currently chasing – taking all these side quests and side jobs.
“Every single thing that he has can be tied back in some way or another to the UFC .
“The opportunity that they gave him, the push that they give him…does he want his legacy to be: ‘Yeah, my last fight I broke my leg and I titled the greatest comeback in combat sports history.
“‘I fooled everybody for a couple of years and then signed on the dotted line to fight Michael Chandler and pulled out of the fight never to return again?
“I don’t think he wants his legacy to be that.”
Chandler’s five-round co-main event against Pimblett takes place at Kaseya Centre in Miami on April 13.
The card is headlined by Alexander Volkanovski and Diego Lopes who will lock horns for the vacated featherweight title.
This follows news that ex-champ Ilia Topuria dropped the 145-pound belt to move up a division and challenge for the lightweight title.
He is likely to face 155 lb champion Islam Makhachev later this year, but could meet someone like Chandler or Pimblett too.