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A former UFC two division champion recently discussed Michael Chandler's idea for a super lightweight championship and supported the idea for the promotion to introduce the new division.
Chandler had proposed that his long awaited bout against Conor McGregor could be the perfect bout to introduce at 165-pound division. Both fighters have been competing at lightweight, so moving up an additional 10-pounds would ensure that they don't have to go through a difficult weight cut.
During a recent episode of ESPN's Good Guy / Bad Guy, former two-division UFC champion Daniel Cormier weighed in on the idea and shared his thoughts for how the promotion can adjust their other divisions. He mentioned that Chandler is in an excellent position because of the allure that a McGregor title fight brings in. He said:
"I believe that is what Michael Chandler is saying may happen right now. Because, I believe that if they're [UFC] going to do a 165-pound division, it should have a name attached to the weight class that is so big that it draws people's attention. Conor McGregor being that name. Michael Chandler, on the other hand, will benefit, Chael, from being in the right place at the right time where these guys will then fight for the super lightweight championship of the world."
Check out Daniel Cormier's full comments on potential introduction of super lightweight division
Chael Sonnen refutes idea of Michael Chandler vs. Conor McGregor being a title fight
Chael Sonnen didn't share Daniel Cormier's stance as he refuted the idea of Michael Chandler vs. Conor McGregor being a title fight.
During the aforementioned episode, the former UFC middleweight title challenger noted that Dana White isn't typically keen on awarding title shots to fighters on losing skids or those that might not return. He said:
"History of Dana White psychology says, 'I don't give a world title opportunity even if they're the number one contender if I have reason to believe they're not going to come back and defend it'. He's still upset that Georges St-Pierre relinquished the [middleweight] belt after he beat Michael Bisping and that was in 2017. I mean, not for nothing, these aren't the right guys." [5:47 - 6:04]
Check out the full episode below:
