Michael Bisping explains why Michael Chandler has a right to call out Nate Diaz

Michael Bisping recently weighed in on why Michael Chandler has the privilege of calling out people like Nate Diaz. The UFC Hall of Famer believes Chandler's star power has afforded him certain rights, including making bold callouts.

'The Count' explained that with Chandler's stellar debut against Dan Hooker and spectacular fight against Justin Gaethje, his stock has risen sharply. In the latest installment of the Believe You Me podcast, the former middleweight champion said:

"Fair play to Michael Chandler, you know what I mean? He had a great year last year, obviously he didn't win the belt, but he was a part of three f*****g incredible fights... He got Debut of the Year against Dan Hooker. He got Fight of the Year against Justin Gaethje and he fought… Charles Oliveira and he fought for the belt. He brought a lot of excitement to the UFC in 2021. When you make that kind of splash and you live up to the hype and you put on those kind of performances, Then f**k it. He has a right to call out people like Nate Diaz."

Catch the latest episode of the Believe You Me podcast below:

Chandler's previous loss against Justin Gaethje marked his second defeat in a row. He will be looking to come back strong in order to stay in the championship running and get another shot at the lightweight title.

---

Michael Chandler names four opponents who would "make sense" for him to fight next

Michael Chandler may not know who his next opponent is, but he does know who would make sense. The former three-time Bellator champion named Conor McGregor, Dustin Poirier, Nate Diaz and Tony Ferguson as potential opponents for his next fight.

In an interview with Ariel Helwani, 'Iron' expressed his wish to fight sometime later in 2022, but only against an opponent who fits his desired timeline.

"There's a couple guys that make a lot of sense. As we talked in the past, Conor makes a lot of sense, the timeline works out well. He's coming back around the time that I want to come back... He makes sense, Tony Ferguson makes sense, Dustin Poirier makes sense, Nathan Diaz makes sense."

Catch Michael Chandler's appearance on The MMA Hour below:

Chandler went on to mention fighters that are ranked ahead of him, such as Islam Makhachev and Beneil Dariush, as potential opponents. However, he revealed that 'El Cucuy' is the only fighter to reach out and challenge him publicly, although it does seem that 'The Notorious' is open to the fight.