Michael Chandler explains his advantages over Conor McGregor in a potential 185-pound fight

Former UFC champion Conor McGregor will make his much-awaited return to the octagon this year against Michael Chandler but in an unprecedented middleweight matchup.

Chandler and McGregor both have not competed at a weight higher than welterweight. Speaking in a video on his YouTube channel, Chandler discussed how fighting at middleweight does not necessitate a massive weight cut for him. He said:

"Cause to me, size does not equal an advantage. So if this fight gets booked at 185 [pounds], and I’m sitting at 190, I’m not gonna try get up to 210 and mess up my body weight. Because this is what I’ve always said about Conor – Conor’s comeback... 170 or 185 – the way I see it is, I’ve been competing at 155 for all these years, I’m definitely heavy for the weight class to get down to 155. And I am gonna be operating within the same kind of body composition as I normally do."

Chandler then highlighted all the areas that McGregor would struggle with due to his lack of familiarity with the higher-weight class and also his inactivity. He added:

"Whereas, he has been off for two years, it’ll be three years by the time he gets back into the octagon and he is gonna have to navigate and negotiate how to do all of his moves, all of his techniques, navigate each exchange inside of the fight with a lot more muscle mass than he used to have, a bigger frame which probably means less cardio, more oxygen use... And him just trying to move and be the old Conor that we all loved back in 2016… So I don’t believe that size is an advantage."

Check out his full comments on Conor McGregor below (4:31):

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Matt Brown dismisses Conor McGregor's return to action

UFC veteran Matt Brown does not envision a significant future for Conor McGregor as a fighter.

Speaking to MMA Fighting, Brown questioned the motives behind McGregor's return while simultaneously writing him off for a title shot and also highlighting that the wealth he has accumulated is sufficient for him to never fight again. He said:

"He (McGregor) doesn’t need to fight. What purpose does it serve him? He’s not getting back to a title. He’s not going to do anything significant ever again. He’s got $500 million in the bank. What’s a few million for fighting somebody like Chandler? What’s that going to do for him? That would be like if I gave you $10... It’s not even going to change your day, nonetheless your life."

Brown is second in the list of most knockouts in UFC history with 13, a record that McGregor, with eight knockouts to his name, has vowed to break.

Check out his full comments on Conor McGregor below: