Michael Chandler is confident he will welcome Conor McGregor back to the UFC despite no date being announced for their fight.
Chandler was announced as the opponent for McGregor's comeback fight which is expected to take place in the third quarter of this year. The pair coached against each other on season 31 of The Ultimate Fighter, which airs later this month, to help promote their upcoming fight.
UFC fans are concerned McGregor will not fight Chandler due to a lack of training posts on social media, with the Irishman also being spotted drinking his Proper 12 whiskey from the bottle this past weekend. Chandler is still hopeful the fight will take place, but has warned his rival that pulling out would "scream insecurity".
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“I think he’s coming back," Chandler told ESPN. "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.”
“I could be very wrong about it and if I am, I’d be surprised and, quite frankly, disappointed, but also, I’m not gonna sit here blowing up my manager, blowing up Dana [White] and Hunter [Campbell], just calling them all the time. 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."
Chandler has been calling for a shot at McGregor since making his UFC debut on the undercard of the Irishman's rematch against Dustin Poirier over two years ago. McGregor hasn't fought since breaking his leg against Poirier in their trilogy fight and will look to pick up his first win in over three years against Chandler, who has a UFC record of 2-3.
Chandler also thinks McGregor's whiskey drinking in public could just be to promote his brand, adding: "I wouldn't say that just because he's out drinking, every time he takes a sip it's not because he actually feans for the alcohol which maybe he does, but mainly it's because he wants to promote his whiskey. Let's be honest, he is a master promoter and self salesman. We also saw him drink at the press conference against Khabib [Nurmagomedov] when he was launching the brand."
