Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler’s upcoming fight is one of the most anticipated in the history of Mixed Martial Arts.
But after three years out of action, many fear that the legendary Irishman may be past his best as he heads into his comeback fight. Chandler has also been inactive, but has stayed in the gym consistently and appears to be training more intensely for the fight.
Many fans and experts are divided on who is going to win, with bookies unable to split the pair as we approach the month out mark. But there are a huge contingent of doubters in McGregor as he continues to enjoy life during training camp.
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UFC legend Chael Sonnen backs Michael Chandler in Conor McGregor fight
Speaking ahead of tonight’s Bellator Paris event, UFC legend Chael Sonnen explained in an exclusive chat why he feels the American is a more likely winner against McGregor. The former two-division world title contender has evolved into a major commentator in the sport, and has analysed both men in depth.
“Michael Chandler is going to win,” Sonnen told Bloody Elbow in an almost exasperated tone. “You have the most disciplined guy in the sport, arguably, and you have the most undisciplined guy in the sport for sure.
“It’s one of those situations where when you do this conversation everyone’s going to be lazy like I’m going to be right now and say ‘Conor’s got a puncher’s chance and if Chandler stands up with him’, so on and so forth.
“I don’t know where they get this idea, a puncher’s chance. I know it’s something fun people say but you’d have to go back to Michael Spinks dropping the belt to George Foreman, there’s no such thing as a puncher’s chance.
“The better guy wins, and he wins every single time. Michael Chandler, at this point, could go out there and box with Conor McGregor. You don’t get better at something by not doing it.”
Conor McGregor vs Michael Chandler breaks UFC gate record
While McGregor appears to have lost some of his allure since his heyday of the mid-2010s, he maintains his spot as the biggest star in UFC history. He has headlined almost all of the promotions top ten pay-per-view events.
And he has now added a new gate record to his CV, landing the UFC their first ever crowd of over $20million. He already held the record with the $17.7million generated for UFC 205 when he faced Eddie Alvarez for the lightweight title and became a two-weight champion.
But with fans being asked to fork out a minimum of almost $1,000 for tickets to the 20,000-capacity T-Mobile Arena for UFC 303, McGregor is expected to break that record again. Promotional boss Dana White confirmed last weekend at UFC St Louis that the event has already shattered UFC 205’s record.
Chael Sonnen was speaking ahead of tonight’s Bellator Paris event at the Accor Arena. Find out how to watch at Bellator.com
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