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Free-agent MMA lightweight and 3-time Bellator lightweight champ Michael Chandler is so hyped about a potential move over to the UFC that he’s already claiming he would make that company’s biggest superstar Conor McGregor “see Jesus” in a potential megafight.
“It would be similar shades of Diaz 1, wear him down, hit him with hard shots,” Chandler said per BJPenn.com. “Hard, hard shots. Take every single one of his shots. He’s got that sneaky and strong and thick left hand that he throws straight. You avoid that, wear him down a little bit and make him see Jesus. Put him out.”
Still, the 34-year-old also admitted that he’s always respected McGregor’s game.
“The thing about Conor McGregor is I have always loved what he has done with the sport,” Chandler said. “I’ve never once hated on him. In the very beginning, I did say ‘He’s not as good as he thinks he is, but he’s better than we think he is’ and he continued to prove that.”
Chandler: ‘I Still Don’t Think He Is as Good as He Thinks He Is’
Chandler basically stated that he was standing behind his original opinion about McGregor’s overall talent and skill set but that he still sees a lot about the former UFC “champ champ” that others should probably emulate.
“I still don’t think he is as good as he thinks he is, but that is a testament to his self-belief,” Chandler said.
In fact, one might read Chandler’s entire diatribe against McGregor as the very evidence that he’s already doing that very thing in his own life.
“You know, if all of us had a little more self-belief like Conor McGregor, life would go differently, Chandler said. “We would look at life through a different lens.”
The fighter predicted he’d stop McGregor.
“But as far as that fight goes, I finish Conor in under two [rounds] in my opinion,” Chandler said.
Chandler Won Bellator 243 Main Event on Friday Night
Chandler stopped Benson Henderson in just one round in the main event of Bellator 243 on Friday night at the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut.
You can watch Chandler’s stunning knockout against Henderson below.
The left hand put Benson Henderson down and then @MikeChandlerMMA finished it from there 😤
(via @BellatorMMA)
But that was the last fight on Chandler’s Bellator contract, so now the fighter intends to test the free-agent waters.
Per ESPN’s Marc Raimondi, Chandler’s massive knockout put the fighter in the perfect position to field offers from other promotional companies such as the UFC.
“Chandler has made it clear that he will test his value on the open market after this fight–and the huge finish raised his stock considerably. Henderson had been stopped only one other time in his career, a 2014 knockout loss in the UFC to Rafael dos Anjos,” Raimondi wrote.
And with Chandler already talking about facing McGregor someday, it sure seems like the former Bellator champ is leaning toward signing with the UFC next.
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