Getty Conor McGregor punched Nate Diaz during UFC 196 in 2016.
MMA analyst and former UFC fighter Dan Hardy listed two reasons why Michael Chandler could come unstuck when he faces Conor McGregor at UFC 303 inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Saturday, June 29.
Though McGregor is the bookmakers’ favorite, he hasn’t been active, has a busy schedule including Hollywood and business obligations, and last fought on July in 2021 when he challenged Dustin Poirier at lightweight, but lost after breaking his leg.
Chandler, meanwhile, last fought in November 2022, and has won twice but lost thrice since joining the UFC in 2021.
Their fight next month will be one of the biggest UFC events of the year, bringing together two well-known combatants, to headline a signature show — International Fight Week.
It is a fight that will be a tough assignment for Chandler, according to the MMA analyst and former UFC title challenger Dan Hardy.
Talking on MMA Fighting’s ‘The MMA Hour,’ Hardy lauded McGregor for his ability to do “very special things in very tense, and high-pressure moments in his career.”
Hardy referenced McGregor’s victory in Dublin over Diego Brandao, his 13-second knockout win over Jose Aldo in his first UFC title fight, and also his thumping win over Eddie Alvarez to highlight his point that the Irishman has a habit of switching it on when the lights are at their brightest, and the stage is at its grandest.
He creates “illusions with range,” Hardy said, and can fool opponents with the distance that he operates within. “That’s not something that you lose by hanging out on a yacht and enjoying your life. I still feel like he’s got that refinement in his game.”
Chandler Also Has 1 Thing Going Against Him, According to Hardy
A second reason that tilts the balance to McGregor’s favor, per Hardy, is that Chandler has become more reckless since joining the UFC.
Chandler, 38, was one of Bellator MMA’s best fighters when he competed there, and won the Bellator lightweight championship three times. He joined the promotion in 2010, beat the likes of Patricky Pitbull, Alvarez, and Benson Henderson, before leaving the company for UFC 10 years later.
But his win-loss ratio in the UFC has swung toward defeat, and Hardy suggests this is because he’s no longer a cautious fighter.
“Michael Chandler’s not the guy who he was in Bellator when he was cautious and picking his shots,” he said.
“If he plays the game that he did against, say, Sidney Outlaw, where he was poised and ready and waiting to land that clean shot, then that Chandler can beat anybody with that speed off the mark and that power.
“But he’s become a lot more reckless recently and that just plays into McGregor’s game,” Hardy said, before adding that Conor could publish Chandler in a similar way to which he did Aldo, who also abandoned caution for recklessness.
“McGregor made Aldo reckless and then punished him for it. Chandler comes in reckless. He’s coming in for a payday and a show. He’s not thinking, ‘Right, I’m going to beat Conor McGregor and I’m going to do it in this particular way.’ He’s coming to fight.”
The UFC 303 Card is Beginning to Fill Out
The UFC 303 event, which takes place at the end of next month, is filling out.
Though only six bouts are official, there are already big names and big bouts on the fight card.
Here is what the show looks like so far:
- Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler — welterweight
- Jamahal Hill vs. Khalil Rountree Jr. — light heavyweight
- Mayra Bueno Silva vs. Macy Chiasson — women’s bantamweight
- Cub Swanson vs. Andre Fili — featherweight
- Joe Pyfer vs. Marc-Andre Barriault — middleweight
- Michelle Waterson-Gomez vs. Gillian Robertson — women’s strawweight