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Ever since he joined the UFC, Michael Chandler has expressed a desire to share the octagon with Conor McGregor. Reiterating the same recently, the former Bellator champion has volunteered to welcome the Irishman upon his return to the cage.
Chandler is currently scheduled to take on Tony Ferguson in a lightweight clash at the upcoming UFC 274 pay-per-view on May 7. If he manages to put 'El Cucuy' away, 'Iron' plans on setting up a date with the former two-division UFC champion.
During a recent interaction with TMZ Sports, Chandler pointed out that McGregor is 1-3 in his last four fights and must pick up a win to establish himself as a potential title contender. The 36-year-old feels it makes sense for them to fight each other next. Having said that, 'Iron' seems open to fighting the winner of Charles Oliveira vs. Justin Gaethje this weekend:
"There's not an MMA fan, combat sports fan, TMZ Sports fan that doesn't want to see me fight Charles Oliveira again or Justin Gaethje again. And if the UFC does have a momentary lapse of judgment and gives the title shot to someone else, Conor's got to beat somebody when he comes back to make himself into relevant status, so Conor or some big fights, we'll see."
Watch the interview below:
Michael Chandler weighs in on a potential move to the welterweight division
Michael Chandler has seemingly hinted at a potential move to the welterweight division in the future. 'Iron' has competed as a lightweight for almost the entirety of his professional career. However, he admits that at 36, the process of cutting to 155lbs keeps getting tougher with time.
Although he isn't eyeing an immediate move to the 170lbs division, Michael Chandler certainly has the welterweight division in his sights. He would like to enter the octagon without having to undergo a grueling weight cut in the future:
"Speaking of welterweight, I would love to make 170 instead of 155, you know. Competing at 155 pounds is, as a 36-year-old now, I've been competing in the [lightweight division] since I was 16 years old and I've done nothing but getting bigger and bigger so welterweight may be in my future, we'll see, yeah."
