Michael Chandler has declared the "competition starts now" ahead of his fight and coaching gig against UFC rival Conor McGregor.
Chandler, 36, will face former two-weight champion McGregor later this year after the pair coach against each other on The Ultimate Fighter. Filming for series 31 of the UFC's reality TV show will begin in May and Chandler is excited at the prospect of being in the presence of his soon-to-be opponent for six weeks.
"Conor is the fight that I wanted, he has expressed interest in wanting to fight me and now here we are," Chandler said on his YouTube channel. "The competition starts right now. We're going to be stuck together in the same city for a month, or month and a half, but the competition is 24/7 the entire time. I want to win this thing; I don't want to beat Conor later this year, I want to beat Conor badly on TUF. I don't even want him to win a fight."
"I cannot wait, this is something that I have wanted to do forever. I've wanted to take off the fighter cap and put on the coaching cap, to usher these young men and women into the opportunity of a lifetime. I get the opportunity to coach a handful of them, so now we build the hype and competition."
McGregor broke his leg against Dustin Poirier in his last fight and will be looking for his first win in over three years when he faces Chandler, who has a UFC record of 2-3. Chandler isn't known for his trash-talk but has hinted that fans could see a "different version" of him on The Ultimate Fighter against McGregor, who is one of the UFC's brashest personalities.
Who wins - Conor McGregor or Michael Chandler? Let us know your prediction in the comments section below.
"I know Conor is already thinking of what it's going to be like being in the same vicinity as me. Little gamesmanship, things he's going to say and ways he's trying to get inside of my head," Chandler added. "I think it's going to bring a side out of me that you guys may or may not get to see, because you don't get to see how passionate I am about competing and winning.
"We all know we are excited about the fight. I can't wait to compete against Conor and beat him. Leading up to it is going to be so much fun. I'm showing up to win from the moment my feet touch the ground in Las Vegas. Hopefully, this fight later this year happens in Vegas too."
