Michael Chandler has been urged to "move on" after opponent Conor McGregor pulled out of their June fight with just weeks to spare, with former UFC star Daniel Cormier suggesting McGregor is done with the sport.
Chandler and McGregor had been due to face off in Las Vegas on June 29, nearly three years after the latter last stepped into the octagon. McGregor suffered a leg break in his most recent bout, against Dustin Poirier in July 2021, but had been gearing up to make a long-awaited return.
Fans bought tickets in record numbers for the bout, according to UFC president Dana White. However, less than a month before the big day, McGregor withdrew through injury. Not everyone has taken kindly to the news, not least Cormier. The 45-year-old, who moved into broadcasting after ending his own MMA career, believes Chandler should now look elsewhere and believes McGregor is "done" after his latest setback.
"This guy lives the biggest life in the world," Cormier said of McGregor on his YouTube channel. "He lives a life that’s so extravagant, that’s so fun, that is so filled with adventure and other things, I don't know people could blame him if he wants to walk away from this. Michael Chandler does not live that life. Michael Chandler still needs to fight. It seems like he needs Conor McGregor but I don't know that he does... He's got some things to weigh going forward because I don’t know that he should wait anymore.
"I think it’s time to move off of this, and I believe that the overwhelming sentiment is that he's [McGregor] done. I thought Conor McGregor was going to come back because, to me, Conor McGregor is a fighter. I know skill-for-skill, the Conor McGregor of 2015 isn’t the same guy ... I just don’t know that he wants to fight, especially right now. I think most people are very skeptical that we will see Conor McGregor in 2024, and if we don’t, the more time that passes the less likely it is that he ever steps in the octagon again."
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Cormier isn't the only one to cast doubt on McGregor's future. Speaking before the withdrawal was confirmed, but after the Irishman pulled a planned pre-fight press conference, UFC legend Chael Sonnen said he felt the end might be near.
"If Conor McGregor doesn’t show up for this, I’m here to let you know any idea you have that he’s still fighting or he’s still in the business or he wasn’t feeling good and they’re doing it another day, or he and Chandler are going to be somewhere down the road... I’m here to let you know now, if you’re told that by anybody, you have been given bad information,” Sonnen said on his YouTube channel.
"If McGregor does not show up on June 29 and fight Michael Chandler at 170lb, it is the exact same as announcing Conor McGregor’s retirement from the sport."
