With Gilbert Burns booked up, Daniel Cormier thinks Michael Chandler is the next best option for Jorge Masvidal.
Chandler (23-8 MMA, 2-3 UFC) called Masvidal out for a “BMF” fight, but Masvidal told MMA Junkie in a recent interview that it doesn’t remotely interest him.
Cormier thinks it should interest him, though. Masvidal (35-16 MMA, 12-9 UFC) says he’s still eyeing a title shot and with Chandler’s name value, Cormier thinks it’s a fight that could help propel “Gamebred” to his goal.
“I believe there’s more value in this fight for Masvidal than he even believes,” Cormier said on his YouTube channel. “He seems to still want to be champion, and I think that the first step in trying to be a champion is exactly what he’s doing – trying to get on the same card as Kamaru Usman and Leon Edwards because, as we saw before, that’s how he got his first championship fight.
“I think he needs to recognize that there’s more value in the Chandler fight than he believes because it might just get him closer to what he wants, and that’s another shot at the welterweight championship. But the first thing you’ve got to do is find a way to get on that card, and if no one else is available, that guy (Chandler) in Tennessee would step up right away.”
Masvidal is on a three-fight skid, but the losses came to top-tier competition. Masvidal dropped back-to-back title fights to former welterweight champion Usman, followed by a decision loss to ex-training partner and former close friend Colby Covington at UFC 272 in March.
Chandler also has lost some big fights as of late. He was outlasted in a Fight of the Year war with Justin Gaethje at UFC 268, but managed to rebound with a Knockout of the Year contender against Tony Ferguson at UFC 274. In his most recent appearance at UFC 281, Chandler was submitted by former interim champ Dustin Poirier.
