Ali Abdelaziz has jumped into the conversation as Michael Chandler chose his next opponent between Conor McGregor and Jorge Masvidal. Abdelaziz has urged Chandler to face Masvidal instead of McGregor, and asked to get the ball rolling for a potential fight between the two Americans.
For context, when a fan asked Chandler on X about whom he would rather face, the former Bellator champion responded by saying:
''Conor then Jorge''
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This forced Abdelaziz to join the discussion as he asked Chandler to meet Masvidal inside the octagon, while mocking McGregor for his UFC return. The 46-year-old said:
''Hey you know Conor is not coming back but @GamebredFighter said he will fight you, call your boss Champ''
Prior to Masvidal, Chandler was linked to fight McGregor as the two were opposite coaches at 'The Ultimate Fighter 31' and were expected to square off. However, their bout didn't materialize due to McGregor's problems with USADA along with a variety of issues.
The two were then scheduled to clash in a welterweight contest in the main event of UFC 303 earlier this year, but their bout was canceled after McGregor suffered a toe injury.
Chandler eventually faced Charles Oliveira in a rematch at UFC 309 last month and suffered a unanimous decision defeat and called out the former two-division champion in his post-fight interview.
As for Masvidal, he retired from the sport after suffering a unanimous decision defeat against Gilbert Burns at UFC 287.
Michael Chandler wants Jorge Masvidal next
Michael Chandler is keen to remain active as he recently called out Jorge Masvidal in another X post, writing:
''Where you at Jorge?''
Masvidal responded by alluding at a potential bout between the two on the UFC's Miami card in April of next year.
''Say word and it’s go April Miami''
Notably, in a recent interview with former UFC fighter Jake Shields on his YouTube channel, the 40-year-old shared the details about his return to the octagon. In his most recent combat sports outing, Masvidal took on Nate Diaz in a light heavyweight boxing contest on July 6 and suffered a majority decision loss.