Michael Chandler refuses to kick Conor McGregor 'while he's down' and still hopes for showdown

Michael Chandler has not given up hope of fighting Conor McGregor - and has refused to kick the Crumlin man "while he's down".

Chandler, 38, had been scheduled to face McGregor in a welterweight bout at UFC 303 in June, but the fight was cancelled with McGregor citing an injury.

Claiming not wanting to wait for McGregor, Chandler fought for the first time in two years when losing by unanimous decision to Charles Oliveira last month.

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But the American has reignited his desire to fight McGregor since the loss. He told Fightbook MMA: "I would put Conor McGregor coming back to the UFC at 50/50 right now. That is my expectation and you’re talking to a guy who had assurances behind the scenes to know that he was going to come back.

"Then he came back and signed a contract. I saw the contract, I signed the contract that had my name on it. June 29th T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas.

"We got 13 days before the fight obviously and he had to pull out with an injury. With that being said obviously Chandler versus McGregor needs to happen at some point.

"We have to finish the Ultimate Fighter 31 and as Connor said on his tweet the other day, he’s a man of his word and wants to fight me. I think that’s a fight the fans want.

"If he does come back, who’s he gonna fight that there is already some history with? We’ve got the Ultimate Fighter.

"Obviously, I have now thrown my name into the upper threshold of the guys that people want to see fight. Fans know that on any given Saturday night, in any given arena, I will put butts in seats, I will blow the roof off of the arena, and I will get the fight of the night.

"So it’s a fun fight, it’s an exciting fight, but I’d still give it a 50-50 right now. But if he does come back, he’s going to be fighting me."

Chandler says he still has plenty of respect for McGregor's exploits in the octagon despite the controversies that surround the Dubliner.

"Tweeting and deleting has become his thing, he likes to keep people on the edge of their seats and keep people intrigued.

"He knows when he throws a tweet out there or he throws any kind of opinion out there or even just when he’s in public, he knows people are watching and taking notice.

"We don’t have much of a relationship. But when it comes to the respect that we have for each other, I’m never gonna be the guy who’s gonna kick him while he’s down.

"I’m never gonna be the guy who’s gonna be talking a bunch of trash and throwing a bunch of shade. But it’s not just exclusive to Connor either. You haven’t really seen me be that guy anyway for a lot of the guys that I fight.

"I’ve got a ton of respect for the guys that do what I do. Whether they leave their families or they go into a different place in their mind and heart for 12 weeks and train for a fight and go lay on the line and brave bodily harm.

"There’s a ton of respect that I have for everybody in this sport. But with Connor and I, if the fight happens, the fight happens. I hold no ill will toward him whatsoever. I think we wanna give the fans what they want and what they desire.

"People can act like they’re not interested in Connor coming back. They can act like they don’t want to watch him. They can act like he’s over the hill and he’s a thousand different names.

"But when he shows up and I show up and that cage door locks, you will have already purchased the pay-per-view and you will be on the edge of your seat for some nonstop action.

He added: "I look out for the business of Michael Chandler, Conor McGregor looks out for the business of Conor Gregor and the UFC are looking out for the business of the UFC.

"I have gone on record and used the word unreliable for Conor when he used to be one of the most reliable guys in the sport.

"Connor was that guy who stepped in when Jose Aldo pulled out, it was a famous story that he had never pulled out of a fight or missed weight, all of a sudden that changed when he pulled out of our fight.

"The UFC lost money, I’m sure that they took some flack for the fight falling through and changing the card at short notice, as well as having to pay more money for people to step in at short notice.

"There’s a bunch of different business things happening because booking a fight in the UFC is a task. Booking a big fight is a very tough task, but booking a fight with Conor McGregor is a very, very, very unique task.

"I understand the implications. I understand that it’s not just like booking another fight and I’m here for the ride. If it works out, it works out. If it doesn’t, my legacy is not tied to Conor.

"My legacy is not tied with fighting Conor and I’ve still got a lot of tread left on the tires and a lot of big fights to come."

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