Conor McGregor 'forgets to act like a fighter' to highlight the celebrity that he also is, says Michael Chandler

Conor McGregor's highly-anticipated return to the octagon will come against Michael Chandler. The pair will coach season 31 of The Ultimate Fighter (which debuts later this month) before facing off. 'Iron' recently shared that he believes the former double champ does not act like a fighter.

Speaking with Brett Okamoto of ESPN MMA, the No.5-ranked lightweight discussed McGregor's appearance at Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship 41, stating:

"I think Conor was there originally to remind everybody that he beat Chad Mendes for the 145 title, beat Eddie [Alvaraez] for the 155 title. The two guys fighting and squaring off were the reason that Conor became the double champ. You saw him at the Garcia-Tank fight. He's been at a bunch of fights. The funny thing about Conor is he's a celebrity as he is a fighter."

Michael Chandler continued:

"It's almost like he's become such a big celebrity that people forget that he's a fighter and he even forgets to act like a fighter certain times in the sense that the celebrity aspect of him somewhat supersedes that... Conor breaks the mold of what all of us are. He's broken the mold of fighters, of celebrity, of worldwide superstar so it doesn't surpise me that things like that happen."

Check out Michael Chandler's comments on Conor McGregor below (starting at the 4:10 mark):

Chandler added that McGregor claimed he is never retiring during the filming of The Ultimate Fighter 31. While he didn't believe the comments, he does think that his future opponent will remain active past their meeting.

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Michael Chandler not worried about Conor McGregor re-entering USADA pool

Michael Chandler and Conor McGregor are set to clash following season 31 of The Ultimate Fighter. While the show will debut in less than a month, the fight does not have a date set. Furthermore, it is unclear if 'The Notorious' has re-entered the USADA testing pool. While rules stipulate that the former double champ must spend six months in the testing pool and pass two tests, 'Iron' shared that he is okay with fighting McGregor in less than six months, stating:

"I don't know what the understanding is. I could see it very well being just two clean tests. I have no problem with it being two clean tests. I could care less. If you do two clean tests, it sounds to me like you're clean. Who am I to say what the stipulations are? I'm ready for him to be cleared or at least get that answer, but at this point, we don't have an answer."

Check out Michael Chandler's comments on Conor McGregor below (starting at the 14:17 mark):

While the highly-anticipated bout remains without a date, it will reportedly take place at welterweight. It is unclear if USADA will clear McGregor prior to the former double champ spending six months in the testing pool.