Henry Cejudo gives Conor McGregor a higher chance to beat a UFC champion than he does Michael Chandler.
McGregor (22-6 MMA, 10-4 UFC) and Chandler (23-8 MMA, 2-3 UFC) are expected to fight after they coached Season 31 of “The Ultimate Fighter,” which debuts Tuesday on ESPN and ESPN+ and airs weekly until a season finale set for Aug. 15.
McGregor vs. Chandler is expected to take place at welterweight, but with a win, “The Notorious” could find himself in the lightweight title picture, which Cejudo thinks makes no sense.
“OK, so if he wins at 170, then he gets an automatic title shot at 155,” Cejudo said on his YouTube channel. “You think that’s fair?”
But if McGregor beats Chandler and decides to stick to 170 pounds, it’s Leon Edwards (21-3 MMA, 13-2 UFC) who holds the title – a stylistic matchup that Cejudo thinks is easier for McGregor than Chandler. Edwards is unbeaten in his past 12 fights, most recently defeating Kamaru Usman in back-to-back title fights.
“I think Leon Edwards might be a more winnable fight for him than Michael Chandler,” Cejudo said. “Because Michael Chandler may bring in that wrestling, he may bring in that All-American wrestling. He’s an All-American wrestler from the University of Missouri, part of Ben Askren’s, so he’s been in these positions before.
“With Leon, Leon’s gonna be stubborn, try and keep it on his feet. I still think Leon could beat him, but I think if there’s one fight that he does have a better chance at, they’re both southpaws, it probably is with Leon Edwards.”
