Conor McGregor's next UFC opponent Michael Chandler is convinced the Irishman's celebrity status has caught up to him.
Former two-weight UFC champion McGregor, 34, is gearing up for his octagon return against Chandler later this year. A date is yet to be announced for the fight and McGregor has seemingly been making more public appearances rather than preparing for his comeback fight.
'Notorious' was ringside for a bare-knuckle fight between two of his former UFC opponents Eddie Alvarez and Chad Mendes over the past weekend, with the UFC star also attending Gervonta Davis vs Ryan Garcia the weekend prior. Chandler thinks McGregor has become as big of a celebrity as a fighter due to his monumental rise in the UFC.
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"I think Conor was there [at BKFC 41] originally to remind everybody that he beat Chad Mendes for the 145lb title and beat Eddie Alvarez for the 155lb title," Chandler told ESPN. "The two guys fighting and squaring off were the reason that Conor became the double champ. You saw him at the Garcia-Tank fight. He's been at a bunch of fights. The funny thing about Conor is he's a celebrity as he is a fighter."
"It's almost like he's become such a big celebrity that people forget that he's a fighter and he even forgets to act like a fighter certain times in the sense that the celebrity aspect of him somewhat supersedes that. Conor breaks the mold of what all of us are. He's broken the mold of fighters, of celebrity, of worldwide superstar so it doesn't surprise me that things like that happen."
UFC fans are worried that McGregor's planned fight against Chandler won't go ahead because of the Irishman's lack of training footage online. Chandler is confident that he and McGregor will fight in late fall or early winter, but has warned 'Notorious' that "chickening out" of the fight would be a massive stain on his fighting legacy.
“I think he’s coming back," Chandler added. "It sure would be a huge stain on his legacy, leading everybody down a road, making people think he’s coming back, and then kind of chickening out at the very end and only doing it for the publicity. That, to me, screams insecurity, and he’s trying to stay relevant rather than seeing through your commitment. Ultimately, all I've got to do is leave it up to how it's supposed to happen. At this point, I'm believing we are going to fight late fall or winter at the latest."
