Michael Chandler breaks silence as Conor McGregor appears to CALL OFF fight and eye Justin Gaethje for UFC return

MICHAEL CHANDLER is adamant he’s still fighting Conor McGregor – despite the UFC superstar seemingly turning his attention elsewhere.

Former three-time Bellator lightweight champion Chandler appeared to win the lucrative McGregor sweepstakes in February when they were pitted against one another as rival coaches on The Ultimate Fighter.

Conor McGregor was seemingly set to be welcomed back to the UFC by Michael ChandlerTWITTER@THENOTORIOUSMMA

But The Notorious has turned his attention to fighting new BMF champion Justin GaethjeGETTY

GETTY

Fan favourite Chandler is confident he’ll still face the UFC’s poster boy[/caption]

But the big-money showdown hasn’t come to fruition as McGregor, 35, isn’t back in the United States Anti-Doping Agency’s testing pool – which he must be in for a minimum of six months before competing.

The Notorious has continued to cast doubt over the fight by angling for a grudge match with new BMF champion Justin Gaethje, although Chandler isn’t concerned by the Irishman’s Twitter tirades.

He told ESPN: “The beautiful thing about mixed martial arts is it’s the what have you done for me lately business and everyone has a short-term memory and we all succumb to a recency bias.

“I’m not really that worried about it. I believe the fight is happening.

“The fight makes too much sense for it not to happen.

“I’m still the most entertaining guy on the doggone roster.

“Everyone wants to see the greatest comeback in combat sports history, so I think it’s going to be me and Conor. That’s it.”

McGregor’s blockbuster return was expected to headline the UFC‘s final pay-per-view card of the year on December 16.

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But the Irishman recently MISSED the deadline to re-enter the pool and seal an end-of-year return, although the UFC can still give him an exemption to the six-month rule.

And like most MMA fans around the world, Chandler just wants clarity from the UFC brass.

The 36-year-old said: “Everyone just wants answers.

“So if we don’t get answers, what do we do? We start to speculate.

The fan favourite added: “It’s going to be McGregor and Chandler. Not sure when that fight is going to be.

“I don’t even know what weight class it’s going to be.

“But either way, it’s going to happen and I knock him out in the first two rounds.

“No ifs, ands or buts about it.”

Former two-division champion McGregor hasn’t set foot inside the octagon since breaking his foot in his trilogy fight with Dustin Poirier two years ago.

The Dubliner has one win to his name since he became the UFC’s first simultaneous world titleholder in November 2016, that being his 40-second destruction of Donald Cerrone in January 2020.