During his viral post-fight interview at UFC 274, Michael Chandler declared that he’s willing to fight Conor McGregor at 170lbs. According to Chael Sonnen, this declaration opened the door for Chandler to take on Nate Diaz.
In a video uploaded to his YouTube channel, ‘The American Gangster’ shared the news that Diaz vs. Chandler is a done deal. At least, that’s what Sonnen was told by a "good source":
"I woke up this morning to a message. Very, very good source that told me Nate Diaz vs. Michael Chandler is done… I don't think he’s right, I do not think that that's right. But if you are to look at what Michael Chandler said on Saturday… When Chandler talked about Conor McGregor that could be interpreted in a couple of ways. First off he wants Conor… And second, he’s hedging his bet."
Sonnen stated that Chandler was ahead of the UFC by declaring that he would fight McGregor at 170lbs. The Irishman is targeting a welterweight title fight against Kamaru Usman, but there’s no saying if he will get his wish. However, after ‘Iron’ Mike’s call out, the UFC could be eager to book Chandler vs. McGregor at 170 lbs instead.
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In Chael Sonnen’s opinion, Chandler’s willingness to jump to the welterweight division could be an opening for a potential fight against Nate Diaz:
"It sounds as though Michael Chandler is saying for you, 'for a big fight I will leave this weight class and I’ll go to that one.' Which is where you could see a little bit of room to the Nate Diaz thing."
However, Sonnen did say that while he trusts his source, he's not ready to believe this piece of information yet. Surprisingly, the younger Diaz brother recently tweeted that he would fight at 170 pounds on June 30.
Watch Chael Sonnen talk about Diaz vs. Chandler at 6:21 of the video below:
Michael Chandler tells Nate Diaz to "shut up and stop complaining"
It looks like a potential fight against Nate Diaz is actually on Chandler’s mind.
After his impressive knockout win over Tony Ferguson, ‘Iron’ Mike took shots at Nate Diaz in a tweet, saying:
"Hey @natediaz209 ...shut up and stop complaining. Keep your mouth shut. Keep your head down until your daddy books a fight for you to get your sacrificial dome bounced off the canvas again. Maybe it’ll be me...if you’re lucky. See you at the top!"
Chandler was referring to Diaz’s rocky relationship with the UFC. The Stockton native has only one fight left on his contract and has been campaigning to get it done as soon as possible. He targeted a bout against Dustin Poirier, but it was met with no reaction from the promotion.
Diaz announced that he was not interested in a trilogy fight against Conor McGregor, likely a matchup that the UFC wanted. The impossibility of finding common ground has left Nate Diaz hanging in anticipation, which could end if he is matched up against Michael Chandler.