Conor McGregor's next opponent Michael Chandler claims he met the "nice Conor" during their brief backstage interactions while sharing the card at UFC 257 in 2021.
Chandler stunned fans in his promotional debut when he sensationally knocked out Dan Hooker within seconds of their bout in the co-main event that night before McGregor was knocked out for the first time in his career by Dustin Poirier. At the time, the Irishman had switched up his image, and was all smiles and politeness with rival fighters, including Chandler.
The pair ran into each other backstage as the Irishman made his way to the post-fight press conference, sharing a very brief interaction which was caught on camera by film crews. However, the moment that went viral from McGregor's walk to the press conference was his meeting with Poirier seconds later, where he maintained his gracious image.
But in a new interview with ESPN, Chandler has told of how the pair met prior to the bout where McGregor was kind to his divisional rival. "We had exchanged some kind of nice stuff, respectful stuff, on stage," Chandler recalled. "He came down [after the press conference] face-offs and shook my hand, said 'it's great to meet you'.
"He essentially said something like 'it's good to have you here in the UFC so go do your thing'. That was the 'nice Conor' that was there for however long. Then he turned into the not-so-nice Conor. We've shared the stage together already so we've sized each other up. He's a little bit bigger than he was back then, it's going to be fun, I cannot wait."
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Chandler and McGregor will face off as coaches on season 31 of The Ultimate Fighter, with the season culminating at the end of August in a fight between the pair. The American has been angling for the bout since arriving in the UFC back in early 2021, and their meeting will be the Irishman's first fight in over two years.
They are both coming off the back of losses to Dustin Poirier; Chandler was submitted in their November meeting while McGregor broke his leg at UFC 264. But they are still massive stars in the promotion, and with both moving up to welterweight it will add a new dynamic to the division as well as the bout.
McGregor must first return to the USADA drug testing pool and complete at least two random tests during a six month period before they meet later in the year. He and Chandler are both coming up from lightweight, and the winner will likely enter title discussions immediately in their new division.
