Michael Chandler believes that his fight with Conor McGregor this year could be one of the highest-grossing in UFC history.
Chandler and McGregor will serve as opposing coaches on the television show The Ultimate Fighter between May and August, before facing one another in the Octagon at an as-yet-unknown date.
McGregor has headlined five of the six highest-grossing UFC events ever, and Chandler, 36, is confident that his bout with the Irishman can join that list.
“If you look at the numbers, I think two million [buys]... it’s not just a possibility, I think it’s very achievable and very attainable,” the American said on The MMA Hour on Monday (6 February).
“It’s hard for me to toot my own horn, but I think what I’ve created is a level of intrigue and mystique that, when I show up on fight night and that cage door closes, all hell breaks loose. My foot is on the gas, I haven’t seen a brake pedal at all since I signed with the organisation – honestly, since I started fighting. It’s just continued to build and build and build.
“So, you look at why this fight got made: Conor knows it’s going to do big numbers [...] Everybody is tuning in, everybody is buying the pay-per-view for that night, that moment, that opportunity.
“You couple that with the opportunity to be on ESPN, the network, for a month-and-a-half, two months, every Tuesday night or whatever it’s going to be [on The Ultimate Fighter]... people are going to be tuning in and the tension’s going to be palpable.
“The build-up and lead-up to this thing, [it] could be the biggest pay-per-view that we’ve ever seen. Obviously I am a wishful thinker, [but] I have confident expectancy for myself to show up and build this thing, Conor knows how to build things. So, we’re about to have a blast.”
The highest-grossing event in UFC history saw McGregor main event against Khabib Nurmagomedov in 2018 (2.4million buys), with the Russian submitting “Notorious” in a seismic grudge match to remain lightweight champion. The second-highest-grossing UFC card was headlined by McGregor’s rematch with Nate Diaz in 2016 (1.65m), a fight the Irishman won on points, while their first meeting – when Diaz won via submission – ranks at No 4 (1.5m). McGregor’s 13-second featherweight title win over Jose Aldo sits at No 5 (1.4m), while his second-round knockout of Eddie Alvarez to become lightweight champion is ranked sixth (1.3m).
McGregor and Chandler have both lost three of their last four fights, though the 34-year-old Irishman remains a draw and Chandler has become a fan favourite since joining the UFC in 2021. The American’s decision loss to Justin Gaethje in 2022 was widely deemed the fight of the year, and his front-kick knockout of Tony Ferguson last May is considered one of the greatest in UFC history.
In his other three UFC bouts, Chandler knocked out Dan Hooker in the first round, suffered a knockout defeat by Charles Oliveira with the lightweight title on the line, and – most recently – lost to Dustin Poirier via submission in November.
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