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A fan-favorite UFC fighter has addressed the highly anticipated Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler matchup and picked Chandler to emerge victorious. McGregor's most recent fight was a lightweight bout against Dustin Poirier in July 2021. Fans witnessed him suffer a gruesome leg injury and lose to Poirier via first-round TKO.
'The Notorious' has been on an injury hiatus ever since. Additionally, McGregor has also significantly bulked up during his time away from the octagon. The Irishman is expected to return to professional MMA competition this year.
McGregor recently completed filming for The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) season 31. The MMA icon will star on the show as a TUF coach against rival coach Michael Chandler. The season will air from May 30 to August 15, 2023, and both athletes will fight one another later this year.
Speaking to Mike Owens of MiddeEasy, fan-favorite UFC lightweight Drew Dober has chimed in with his prediction regarding the McGregor-Chandler matchup. Dober stated:
"My prediction -- As of now, I have Michael Chandler winning. Not winning spectacularly; I don't think it's going to be like, you know, a big thing. But I just don't think the decisions of Conor McGregor is going to complement his fighting style."
Furthermore, Drew Dober suggested that Conor McGregor has fallen in love with boxing in recent years. Harking back to McGregor's recent fights against Dustin Poirier, he opined that 'The Notorious' appeared to be extremely flat-footed. Dober added:
"And then now with -- Man, he's put on some size. And I don't think that's going to complement his fighting style. So, I just don't think that the decisions that Conor is making is going to showcase a better Conor in his next fight. And Michael Chandler is just, he gets better every time. And if this fight happens -- which again, it's all up in the air -- I have Michael Chandler looking like the superior fighter in this one."
Watch Dober discuss the topic at 14:00 in the video below:
Potential timeline for the Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler UFC showdown
Given how much Conor McGregor has bulked up over the past few years, many in the MMA community foresee him moving up to the welterweight division in his comeback fight. McGregor, a former UFC featherweight and lightweight champion, has himself hinted that his fight against Michael Chandler would most likely be contested at welterweight.
Michael Chandler, for his part, has consistently maintained that he'd love to fight Conor McGregor irrespective of what weight class their fight takes place in. As of this time, McGregor's exact comeback date and weight stipulation for the Chandler matchup haven't been officially announced.
Regardless, earlier this year, MMA journalist Ariel Helwani reported that the matchup could take place in September. Helwani tweeted:
"The season runs from May to Aug. Last I heard the hope was for them to fight in September."
