06 February 2023 , 11:09
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Michael Chandler has promised to show a "new side" to his well-rounded MMA game when he faces Conor McGregor in his UFC comeback fight later this year.
The former Bellator lightweight champion will welcome two-weight UFC world champion McGregor back to the octagon after the pair coach this season of The Ultimate Fighter. It will be the Irishman's first fight in over two years, and will signal Chandler's move up to welterweight after a career at lightweight.
Chandler is a famed 155lb fighter, and his five UFC fights to date have taken place at the weight, but he has admitted he finds the weight difficult to make. And should he win, he plans to stick around at 170lb after both he and McGregor bulked up during their times away from the octagon after each losing to Dustin Poirier.
"I'm extremely excited," Chandler told fans in a YouTube video reacting to this weekend's news. "I think it's going to bring the best out of me and a side out of me that you guys may or may not get to see. Obviously you don't get to see the everyday ins and outs of how passionate about the sport."
McGregor and Poirier will coach this season of The Ultimate Fighter in Las Vegas, which finishes airing in August after which they will fight. As keen as he is to win their upcoming bout, Chandler is also desperate to win the show in dominant fashion by showing off his abilities as a coach.
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Michael Chandler will show a new side of his game against Conor McGregor (Zuffa LLC)Are you excited to see Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler go at it on The Ultimate Fighter? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!
"I am passionate about competing, winning and passing along the knowledge, the experience, the information that I have up in this brain of mine," he continued. "I'll impart this wisdom to these young fighters for the entirety of this show and rest assured, I will leave no stone unturned in my preparation for the fight later this year.
"More importantly, more immediately, I will leave no stone unturned in my preparation to make sure that these fighters get the opportunity of a lifetime. They get a coach who shows up with his best foot forward to show up and pull something out of these guys or gals to be able to go out there and win that plaque, win that UFC contract and be known as The Ultimate Fighter.
"It's going to be a blast, pull your hat down tight because today is the start of a half-year journey. However long this is going to be, whenever Conor and I finally get to step inside of the octagon together, whenever it is, live on pay-per-view, be there or be somewhere else because you're not going to want to miss it."