Michael Chandler takes a sarcastic jab at Conor McGregor facing off with Petr Yan - "I need relevancy"

Michael Chandler took a veiled jab at Conor McGregor for facing off with Petr Yan. McGregor and Yan were attending an IBA boxing event in Dubai when they engaged in an intense staredown. The IBA President mediated with the championship belt as the two UFC fighters engaged in an intense staredown. The duo broke out in a hearty laughter and hugged each each other afterward.

Conor McGregor was expected to make his UFC return against Michael Chandler in 2023 after season 31 of The Ultimate Fighter reality show concluded. However, the fight has yet to come to fruition. Chandler took to X to mock the Irishman for staring down a fighter two to three weight classes below him and wrote:

“Looking for a 135er or preferably a 125er to face off with, on camera, at an obscure event…any takers? I need relevancy…”

Disagreements with USADA are one of the primary reasons for Conor McGregor’s delayed return to competition. Despite the odds, he has shown interest in competing against the BMF champion Justin Gaethje, Dustin Poirier, and others. Meanwhile, Chandler has been campaigning hard for the mega-fight against the former two-division UFC champion.

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Michael Chandler hails Conor McGregor as a man of his word who will respect the commitment

Besides all the trash-talking and social media altercations, Michael Chandler respects Conor McGregor for his professionalism. The Irishman re-entered the USADA testing pool in October and started preparing for the comeback fight. While the milestone UFC 300 event in April has been proposed as the perfect stage for his return, McGregor’s coach recently revealed that he may not return until July 2024.

Irrespective of the date of his return, there is no clarity about McGregor’s opponent yet. During a recent appearance on The MMA Hour, Michael Chandler asserted that he will welcome ‘The Notorious’ back to the UFC octagon. Chandler said:

"Conor is not coming back and fighting anybody else. No matter who he talks about, no matter what things he tries to will into existence, he's coming back and he's fighting me. We did The Ultimate Fighter, we signed on the contract, we made a commitment. I'm a man of my word, I believe he's a man of his word and the UFC are men of their words."

Watch Michael Chandler make the statement below (15:13):

Conor McGregor has not competed professionally since suffering a gruesome leg break in his trilogy fight against Dustin Poirier in July 2021. Meanwhile, Chandler returned with a third-round submission loss against Poirier in his last Octagon outing over a year ago.