Why Chandler is better off with Pimblett at UFC 314 - ESPN

It was May 2022 and Michael Chandler had just scored a breathtaking front-kick knockout, crumbling Tony Ferguson before a gasping crowd in Phoenix. This was a bonus «wow!» for fans whose primary draw to UFC 274 was the still-to-come main event, a championship fight between two other lightweights, both bigger stars than Chandler.

But there at center cage stood Chandler, riding a wave of adrenaline from his starring role in a foot-to-the-face finish that would be a tough act for even Charles Oliveira or Justin Gaethje to follow.

A microphone was thrust in front of his face for his postfight interview, and Chandler did what one would expect of a ranked 155-pounder after a spectacular win: He stated his case for why he should be the next opponent for whichever of the night's headliners took home the belt. Then Chandler's voice deepened as he redirected his shouting, pointing bluster toward someone who knows a thing or two about that type of approach to a mic.

"Conor McGregor! You gotta come back and fight somebody!" Chandler bellowed, commanding the crowd's attention like a brawny Tony Robbins. «I am the most entertaining lightweight on the planet! But I want to up the stakes, Conor! I want you at your biggest! I want you at your baddest! And I want you at your best! You and me at 170 this summer, this fall, this winter!»

It was a heady callout that generated online buzz among MMA fans. But the buzz turned out to be a bust, as «this summer, this fall, this winter» all passed without a fight materializing. McGregor was healing a broken leg and appeared preoccupied by Hollywood and making headlines, many of them troubling. Chandler waited patiently, though, and by the following February, he and the starry Irishman were named