Michael Chandler got the fight he wanted against Conor McGregor, and he’s confident he will take him out.
But first Chandler (23-8 MMA, 2-3 UFC) will coach “The Ultimate Fighter 31” against McGregor (22-6 MMA, 10-4 UFC) before the pair throw down later this year. Chandler acknowledges that both he and McGregor are furious starters but gives himself the advantage in numerous departments.
“Conor and I both start extremely fast,” Chandler told ESPN. “That cage door closes, Bruce Buffer announces us, that bell dings, and we both try to meet in the center of the octagon trying to make the other guy take a backwards step first. Conor more in a larger, wider, take-up-more-space stance in order to project kind of that domineering spirit of himself. Me more like a missile coming at you, making you feel my presence right away, I want to get my hands on you. I do think I have more power, better wrestling, better grappling.”
McGregor has eight knockouts to his name in the UFC, whereas Chandler has finished both his octagon wins, including a devastating front kick knockout of Tony Ferguson. But Chandler says he has more ways to win.
“If he lands one on the button, it’s going to be a rough night for me,” Chandler added. “If I land one on the button, it’s going to be a rough night for him, but which one of us can do it? I’m going to get in his face, make him take a backwards step right away, and he’s going to feel my presence from the very beginning of the fight, and then from there wherever the fight takes us.
“If I want to pick him up and put him down, I can pick him up and put him down and put a beating on him and get a submission that way. I believe I finish Conor in the second round. That’s my ‘Mystic Mike’ take on this later on this year whenever it is”
The way Chandler envisions finishing McGregor is by putting his hands on him and stopping him in similar fashion that he did when he sparked Dan Hooker in his promotional debut at UFC 257.
“I always visualize the knockout,” Chandler said. “I always visualize a big overhand right or a left hook. That’s the shot that I really want to land every single time, and that’s the shot I’ve seen put guys down so many times in my career, put guys down in training, put guys down in my mind a million times. I believe I wear him down a little bit and land a big shot in the second round and take him out.”
