MMA Fighting - Michael Chandler Explains Why He Holds 'No Ill Will Whatsoever' Towards Conor McGregor Despite Waiting to Fight Him for Nearly 2 Years

Episode Date: September 20, 2024

Michael Chandler explains how he finally decided to move on from his long awaited fight against Conor McGregor but why he's not holding a grudge against the Irish superstar despite sitting out nearly two years for a matchup that never happened. Chandler also reveals how he ended up with a fight against Charles Oliveira and his plans to eventually take down UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev in the next year. Subscribe to MMA Fighting Check out our full video catalog Like MMA Fighting on Facebook Follow on Twitter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Coming back, Madison Square Garden, November against Charles Olivera, rematch for the ages. It is always my pleasure to speak to Michael Chandler. Michael, how are you? Oh, I am good, man. I tell you what, I've held this secret for the last four weeks. And I'm glad the cat's finally out the bag. and I'm glad your boys got a fight, and I'm excited to go out there and compete again.

So four weeks, you said you heard about this. So, like, can you give me the lay down? Like, how did this happen? How did this all kind of come about to fight? Go back to MSG, get the rematch with Oliver, and not Connor? Yeah, so obviously I was focused on Connor the entire time. I had enough reassurances, reassurances behind the scenes that holding on the Connor fight,

getting the fight booked, getting all the way down to two weeks before the fight. and as soon as the fight got, you know, canceled, I packed everything up. I left Florida. I was, you know, just disheveled because, you know, you put all the work in and, you know, it's a tough spot to be. I was away from my family for 10 weeks. And then got home, licked my wounds for a day or so,

continued to talk to the UFC. The UFC's been awesome. You know, people ask me how the communication has been. The UFC has been awesome. with our communication back and forth. They've just said, hey, when we know something, we'll let you know, started talking about options if Connor wasn't going to be able to come back anytime soon. And a couple weeks ago, about four weeks ago, you know, the decision was made that, hey,

it's not looking like this fight is going to be booked this year. And I said, hey, man, just give me another fight. And then Charles's name got brought up. That's a fight I want back. It's a fight I believe I win the second time if I don't make the same mistakes. And here we are. Like I said, that was four weeks ago. I'm glad I can finally tell the world.

I'm happy, man. You know, listen, listen, we all knew why you waited for the counterfight. It was a massive fight. Did you start to get kind of a bad feeling after the June fight got canceled, though, just because everything was on board, and then he comes out and says, you know, he has a broken pinky toe. And then we just don't hear anything after that. And I actually said, I'm sure you saw this. I mean, I said it publicly, I said December's got to be the cutoff.

Like, end of the year, he's not back by the end of year. I think Michael's got to move on. obviously that's what's happening. So can I imagine you had a similar idea. If it's not happening by December, you got to do something else. Yeah, December was definitely the cutoff. But also, I mean, we were talking about June.

You know, we were talking about June with a broken pinky toe, which is a six-week injury, get back in there and put a two-month training camp in. You're good. We should have been able to fight by August, September, October. You know, it was interesting looking at the dates. You know, you're looking at Abu Dhabi dates. You're looking at Salt Lake City.

you're looking at, you know, some of these other dates. I think, you know, Manchester was in July. So there was some interesting, interesting time over the summer where these dates were outside of the country. And then immediately when it was, you know, started sounding like it wasn't going to be December, I was like, hey, boys, I'm going to go bet on myself. I'm going to roll the dice. And it's really funny, you've had a thousand fighters sit here across from you and talk to you

doing interviews and all of them who have said that I, you know, was Connor's little whipping boy or I was waiting too long or I was wasting my career. Every single one of them would have held on to this Connor fight even though they say publicly that they wouldn't. Every single one of those guys wants this fight. But at this point, I've got a job to do. I believe I beat Charles and I put myself in a ridiculously good position. I beat Charles. I'm the number one contender.

I can go fight Islam or Connor. And I still believe this is the way it was always supposed to be. I'm going to go beat Charles. and go win that title in 2025. So I just wanted to get moving more than anything I was ready to get back in there. You know, I threw out a YouTube video to remind people of my career thus far in the UFC, 25 months, six training camps, five fights. Every single fight was do or die, top five guys, fight of the night, fight of the year,

knockout of the year, debut of the year. That's who I have been since I came into the UFC. So I had a little bit of a lull. I want to get back to the Michael Chandler of old, and this is Chandler 2.0. Can I ask, like, during this whole time, because obviously, like, there's things we don't hear about. And as much as I feel like I'm on the inside and talking to people, there's things I certainly don't hear about. In your, in your heart of hearts, like, do you do, do you have an idea at least what you've been told why Connor isn't back? Like, why this isn't happening to this?

Like, I understood, like, with the broken leg and then the USADA thing, because that's, I understood those timelines. Like, yes, I understood. He's still coming back for a really devastating injury. and they had to get back in the anti-doping pool. That I all got. Like that I understood. And then like we didn't, I know we talked before. I was like, why wasn't this at 300?

But hey, it didn't happen. And then when it got booked for June, we talked right after. Good to go. Everyone's gearing up. Everyone's ready to go. Breaks the pinky toe. I'm not going to fault anyone for dropping up if I do it an injury. This is a serious sport.

I get it. But as you said, six weeks. Like that's not an injury you're going to be out for a year. So did you ever, like, do you have any idea why Conner's not coming back this year? No concrete answers aside from the fact that the UFC, the UFC has a business to run. The UFC is by far in a way the biggest combat sports promotion in the world. And they are climbing the ranks every single year, gaining ground on all of the biggest sporting promotions in the entire world. They have a fiduciary duty to their shareholders, to their C-suits, to the people that own the company,

and to just the legacy of what the UFC is to make sure that all of us, we are who we say we are, right? And when you say, you got Connor tweeting saying he should, you know, give me my date, I want to come back at this time, want to fight this guy, want to fight, I'm ready to get back in there, but then his social media shows something else. Are you a guy that can be relied upon? Are you a guy that has taken it as seriously as your opponent, right?

You look at the way that I live my life. You look at the way that Charles lives his life. You look at the way that Porre and Gaci and all these guys that were, that are in this sport, you see the way that we train, you see the way that we live our lives, we are fighters, and that is our number one priority in our professional lives. It doesn't look like that is the truth, the truth for Connor. And obviously I saw it over the last year and a half, but I always, I still stand firm in the notion that Connor McGregor is coming back.

And when he does, his road goes through Nashville, Tennessee, and Michael Chandler, and we finish the ultimate fighter. But I just don't, it's not going to be my next fight. I'm Connor's next fight, but he is not my next fight. And I'm willing to go bet it all. I'm willing to go bet the house. I'm willing to go bet the farm. I'm willing to put all the pressure on myself in a huge, huge fight card, November 16th.

And when he gets his house in order, I'll be waiting for him. If not, I got no problem beating Charles and going to fight in fighting for the title. Because if I had that choice today, I'm going to fight Islam after I beat Charles. So we'll see what happens. And you said it there. And I'm just going to reiterate here. You do believe in your heart of hearts we will see Conner again. because there's been that question, like, as these things kept getting put,

no one doubted you. No one ever doubted Michael Chandler wanted to fight. No one ever doubted Michael Chandler was rated by June, July, August, September, like, and no one doubted you at all. But there's been this long-running question of like, well, you know, the injury, the time off, we see him out partying, we see him doing the BKFC thing, we see him doing all this stuff, but none of it's the fight, you know, so it's like, is Connor ever going to come back? Is he ever going to fight again?

But in your heart or heart, you do believe we will see Connor again. and he will eventually, whether it's January, February, March next year, you do believe we will see Connor McGregor at least one more time. I do think so. Maybe I'm, you know, maybe I've just been so close to it and so focused on it, that, you know, you just look at his history. Connor McGregor is a nothing, nobody without the sport of mixed martial arts, without the UFC platform, without the legacy that he has created.

And I believe he's romantic about it. I believe he loves the sport. I believe his spirit loves the sport, but sometimes his body and his brain want other things, right? And I've never walked a mile on that man's shoes. Neither have you. So who are we to critique him? But I do believe he comes back. And when he does, I'll be waiting.

And I just might have the title by then. So it could be a very interesting set of circumstances. I know the answer before I ask it, Michael, but I'm going to ask it anyways. Just because you know people are going to ask you this question, the way this whole thing played out, And again, there's just so many twists and turns of this story. Do you have any regrets about this last two years, just in general, when you go from, you know, that, obviously incredible fight with Porier, you go right in the Ultimate Fighter. And I know I brought this up to you before. Like, when we talked before you went to go film the Ultimate Fighter, we're like, oh, September.

You're going to be fighting September. Like, we're excited. Like, oh, it's going to finish filming. September is going to be the date. And then obviously, you know, everything else happened. So I know what you're going to say, but I want to hear your version. Do you have any regrets about these last two years? No, it's a great question.

And I've heard everybody else's opinion about it. Oh, gosh, sorry. No, burn. We have to cut that out. Sorry. You know, it's a good question, and I'm glad you brought up September. That was going to be the date originally, right? So if you go from September to April when the fight actually got announced, I was out in waiting for seven months.

Now, granted, when I step into the octagon for the next time, it's going to be two years since I fought. But I already had a bout agreement, already had a contract sign, already had the biggest gate, broke the gate record, was lined up against Connor. We had a fight. Fight gets pulled. So you can't really have any regrets. All you can do is make the best decision that you can with the information that you have and the information that I had that you didn't have and the fans didn't have was the reassurances of dates being looked at and things being worked on and protocols being followed. and I enjoyed myself. I needed some time away from the sport.

Damon, you and I have been friends for a long time. You've followed my sport. You've followed my career. You've seen my passion. But when you're fighting the best guys, toughest guys in the world, constantly in training camps, constantly dealing with the pressure, constantly dealing with the rigors of what I have to go through because I take it so seriously,

the sport can chew you up and gobble you up. And I think the first 25 months having six, training camps, five crazy fights, and all of the different things that I said earlier, it beat me up a little bit, mentally, physically and spiritually. And me being pulled out of the sport has given me a new lease on life and a new love for the sport. So I don't have any regrets because this is the way it was always supposed to be, I guess, right? You can always look back and have 2020 vision saying, I wish I would have done this

or I wish this would have worked out differently. I'm at peace where I am. I'm 59 days away from fighting Charles Oliver in a number one container fight as the co-main event at John Jones's last fight ever, Stepe Miochit's last last fight ever at the world's most iconic arena. It's not the counterfight, but it sure is a heck of a consolation prize. So no regrets, man. Here we go.

You said something there, and I think you'll know where I'm going with this. You talk about the, I won't say, I don't know if burnout's the right word, just like the rigors of the sport. I remember talking to you around those two fights with Will Brooks, and you said very openly, I was just not in the right place at that point in my career. Not taking anything away from Will. I remember talking to you around that time and how you were just not in a good space.

That's probably the worst I've ever talked to where you just were not in the right space. I'm not saying it's similar, but would you say like this is a somewhat similar situation where the break was actually good for you to just take a step back, get your body healthy, spend time with your family, because everyone just looks at the time off and say, oh, you're missing time in your career. But I remember that time around those Will Brooks fights. You were not in a good place. And that was like the time where I was like, man, like, it was kind of scary because I was like, I've never seen Michael like this before.

Yeah, no, it's true, man. It's it was very similar. You know, that one was a little bit different. I was still so young in my career. And I didn't have the maturation yet at that point in time. I wasn't ready to have my first loss. I built up my entire body, but I wasn't building up my mind and my self-confidence and my self-image. And I lost that first fight to Eddie.

And then lost to Will Brooks, lost to Will Brooks. and I was just in a bad spot mentally. And sometimes you look back at that and you say, man, I am so happy that that happened to me because here I am on the other side of it. You know, when you're in it, you don't know how it's going to work out, but you don't know how your legacy and how your platform is growing in the moment, right?

So it was very similar in this scenario, man. And, you know, my last fight against Porre, not to take anything away from him, but, you know, there was things about that training camp. There was things going on behind the scenes, mentally, physically, and spiritually that you look back and you just say, man, I wasn't in a good spot. And maybe it was just the accumulation of the physical blows and the mental blows and the mental reps of the, you know, I don't want to sound weak, but I also want to let everybody know that

even the toughest of us all are human beings. And even the toughest of us all need to, need to show emotion and wear our heart on our sleeve and say, hey, I am just a human being just like you. I wake up in the morning and brush my teeth and put my pants on just like you, you know. So it's very similar to that. And I do think having this clarity, having this time away has built me into, as I said, Chandler 2.0. I'm still going to be exciting. Still going to have the foot on the gas. Still going to be the most violent guy at Madison Square Garden on November 16th.

But the fight style is going to be a little bit different. You're going to see things from me that you haven't seen ever in my entire career. rear and I wouldn't be that man if I didn't take a break. Is it is it almost again, if you set the Connor fight aside, is this almost the perfect fight to have then because this was the fight that where you had a chance to become champion, obviously the first round you come so close to finishing him and credit to Charles coming back in the second round, but it's almost like, as you said, this is Chandler 2.0, this is almost like Chandler, UFC 2.0 because this is kind of restarting the fight where you had a chance to

become champion. again, not taking anything away from Charles, but is this kind of like the perfect fight to show the new Michael Chandler because this is the guy who you fought for the title of the last time? I think it absolutely is. You know, I mean, call it serendipity, call it God's plan, call it the universe

and how it all works out, whatever anybody's, whatever anybody's kind of viewpoint on it is, man, you just couldn't have scripted it better. You couldn't script it any better. And once again, yeah, it's at Madison Square Garden, co-main event, John Jones versus Stepe, the fight for the greatest heavyweight, the baddest man on the planet, and the guy who shattered my dreams, you know, since you've been covering me since I was a young, little young, early 20-year-old, I want to be the best guy in the world. I want to be known as

the best guy in the world, and you can't be the best guy in the world unless you're holding a UFC belt. That guy, Charles Oliveira, rightfully so legally within the confines of the sport, beat me on that that night in Houston, Texas, and he was the better man. But I get an opportunity to write that wrong in my mind and in my soul. A guy who's got wins over Dustin Poria, guys got who's got a win over Justin Gachie, a guy who held the belt for a couple years in consecutive fights. Most of the mission wins in UFC history, it's a dangerous, scary, exciting fight, huge opportunity.

And dang, is it hard to beat somebody in a rematch when you've already beat him? So he's got all that pressure on him. I got nothing to lose everything to gain become the number one contender on November 16th call my shot against Islamahachev fly out to wherever him and arm in are fighting be standing there cage side go inside the cage and tell him you're next in the coming months so it's going to be a great

storyline and that's how it's going to play out at least I'm going to be envisioning that between now and November 16th and I know I don't know if you saw or not I think it was Islam's coach Javier Mendes said like he's interested in the Chandler fight like he said that Like, I think that is an interesting fight. Obviously, again, credit, you know, it's going to be Islam and Armin. We know that's probably going to happen December, January, probably most likely from what I'm hearing. But, I mean, I know that's, you know, I hate to repeat myself on this, Michael.

We've talked about, like, for years, we've talked about you and Khabib, because, you know, the one guy, the one style that Khabi had not fought is a really, really good wrestler. And we were just waited. Now, of course, Khab retired. Credit to him, one of the greatest of all time. But you kind of get, like, you know, Kibib's prodig in Islam. And the fact that they're acknowledging you, obviously, they're interested. So I think that is a real possibility. And let's be honest, also, you're a big fight. There's a combination here. It's not like when Dustin got the title shot against Islam,

had he gone on this long winning streak and, you know, beating every contender, no, but it's Dust de Porier. Very similar thing here. You go out and beat Charles Olivera. Fighting Michael Chandler's a big fight. So you and Islam would be a very big fight. And it would be a big fight. And hats off the Javier Mendez. He's an awesome dude. Have watched him from afar and been a fan of his for years. And yeah, I think, you know, Islam doesn't want to fight Charles again. Islam doesn't want to fight Poria again. Islam doesn't want to fight some of these guys that he has fought before. He wants new blood, fresh blood, a new guy to get him excited to train every single day to go fight.

And I am that guy. I think I've got a great style to beat Islam. As I said, good old fashioned, passionate, hard work in Missouri Division I, wrestling beats Dagestan Isambo every day of the week. I got dynamite in my hands. I got cardio for days. I can push the pace. I believe I beat Islam.

A ton of respect for him. As I said, you know, in the past, he hadn't proven himself. And now he is completely 100% proven himself. He is our champion. He is my champion at 155. And I have to respect that. With that being said, who doesn't want to see that fight? So I got to get, I got to get, take care of business and get my, get my training camp going and focus on November 16th because this is the greatest opportunity of my lifetime.

And it's going to be really, really awesome because I believe I fight and beat Islam in early 2025s. Do you, so based on that assumption, do you believe Islam beats Armin then? I think I think that's the answer to question. I do. And I think Armand's a very talented man. But I think Islam's just got too much more. I think Islam is a man possessed. I think Islam is bigger, stronger.

He's got more skills. You know, obviously, I've studied the Alvara-Armin fight a lot, which was Charles. his last fight and he lost to Armand. And I just don't think he has enough to beat Islam. I think Islam is just, he's got too much pressure. His wrestling is better. He's improved a ton more since Armin has, since him and Armin have fought stylistically. And I think Islam goes out there and wins, or at least I want him to because I want to compete

for the title against Islam. I think that is the perfect way to win the title. Well, that Armin Charles fight was really close to. I think people lose out when you look at just the decision. decision and say, well, Armand won. Yes, he won. But it was a close fight. Charles gave him a lot of problems in that fight, and it was really came down to basically a couple moments in that fight where Armand was on top of him more than it was that he went out there and just beat down Charles Olivera. Yeah. And Charles, I mean, and just Charles, Charles still has it, man. You can't,

you cannot, you cannot write Charles Olivera off. We all have numerous times from the weight misses to the fights he lost that he shouldn't have lost, resurrected his career, came back, beat me, became champion, beat Porre, beat Geichie. If you're not a fan of Charles Olivera, you're not an MMA fan, right? So I can say that and still want to beat the man, because I have respect for everybody that that I fight, but it was a close fight. I do think Islam runs through Armin, is my opinion, or at least I want him to because I want him to look like the baddest man on the planet, pound for pound number one,

when I go take his throne. So that's what I'm betting on. I know you kind of mentioned this last weekend when you were at Nocho UFC, and I'll bring it up to you now because we've had a couple of days to kind of reflect on everything, because I know the question was asked of you, if you had to choose Islam or Connor, what do you choose? Now, my perspective, if you want it, is that I don't know that you'd have to choose because they haven't even booked Islam and Armin yet.

That's going to be December, January maybe, and again, that's if. We don't know for sure that's going to be. It could be February. You fight and go out and beat Charles Olaver November 16th. You could still potentially fight Connor around that same time, February, March next year. And then obviously, champions fight about every six months. Granted, you probably have to wait until October and November to get Islam. But do you see that as like a real scenario here where you beat Charles?

You still get the Connor fight early next year. And then you get the Islam fight. Because I don't know that it's necessarily either or because you're conceding. It's going to be Islam and Armin. You know it's going to be Armin. But we don't even know when that fight's happening. Yeah, no, I completely agree. And that's why, of course, I just got done saying I'm betting on myself.

I could possibly never fight Connor and maybe I wasted some time if I change courses, right? But I think it played out the way it played out. And I do think I beat Charles Oliver on November 16th. And we may not even have a fight booked with Islam and Armin. Obviously there was, there was some reports came out, Islam talking about needing surgery. It sounds like it doesn't need surgery now. So who knows when that fight is going to happen? Who knows if that fight happens or how long it's going to take for that fight to happen.

So, yeah, I got a job to do. Great opportunity to fight Charles Olivera. And then, man, I plan on running through Charles Olivera, getting out healthy and being able to fight Connor as early as January if the athletic commissions don't give me too long of a suspension. So I could fight Connor first of the year, 2025, and then still go fight Islam. Running through Charles Olivera, Connor McGregor, within a couple months span and then fighting for the UFC title. that's a heck of a run. Is the Charles fight, is that three rounds or five rounds?

It's five rounds. Five round co-main event. I love it. I love you. It's literally exactly like the title fight. Now, I don't think it's going to go five rounds, just like the last one didn't go five rounds,

but I love that it is five rounds. And I know, again, you're not a man who lives with regret, and I know we've talked many times since that Charles Oliva fight, but you were so close to putting him away in that opening round. And then again, credit to him for coming back.

I know you're not going to sit there revisit and watch that fight and obsess over it, you're just going to go out there and do your thing. But when you look back at that, you were so close. Like, you got to know, like you were a second away from being UFC champion and beating Charles Olvera. Can I imagine it's the same mentality going into this one? Like, yes, it's five rounds, but the chances of just going five rounds, like most Michael Chandler fights pretty slim.

Yeah, yeah. I mean, like you said, the word is not regret. The word is wisdom. You know, I can go back. And there's a couple times when like, ah, man, I wish I wouldn't, yeah, why did I, you know, why did I rush this or why didn't I do that? But ultimately, I've become wiser because of it. It was the way it was supposed to play out.

And yeah, talk about it playing out, right? I really was one second away from reaching my number one goal of my entire professional life. But sometimes that's just the way it is supposed to be. And I'm going to continue to move forward. And it will make it even sweeter when I do beat Charles the second time on November 16th. I know, like I said, Chandler 2.0 is going to be a little bit smarter, but still just as dangerous, still just as foot on the gas, still just as exciting. Everyone, once again, at Madison Square Garden for the fourth time I fought at, I'm now going to fight at Madison Square Garden four times. People will be on the edge of their seats.

I'm going to steal the show. I just saw John Jones at the Spear. Had to go up, say hi, man. Like, it's an honor to share the card with you. You know, it's your last fight, man. It's an honor to be at your retirement fight. And we kind of talked a little bit. And he said, he said, oh, only thing.

I ask is save some excitement for me in the main event and I'm like John, I can't do that dude. You know I come to steal the show. He's like, no, I know you do. But we were both pumped to be on the same card. So it's going to be fun and you couldn't have scripted it any better. Yeah, I guess John or Steepa, whoever wins

that fight is going to have to go for a performance bonus because it's like the old days back when Cowboy used to fight. Whenever Cowboy would fight, you'd be like, well, at least one bonus is spoken for. That's kind of like the Michael Chandler thing. You're on a Michael Chandler car, like, all right, well, one bonus is spoken for. I don't know if it's going to be performance of the night, fight as a night. One of those has already spoken for.

Yeah, and actually, funny, fun fact, and serendipitously, I have not gotten a bonus in one fight, and that was the Charles Olivera fight, because we had a crazy good first round, but he finished me early in the second round, so I didn't get a performance of the night bonus, and the fight didn't go long enough to get fight of the night. So four out of my five fights, I have gotten a performance of the night bonus, but I did not end that one. So November 16th, we were ready to.

a couple wrongs. We write the wrong of me losing to him the first time and losing the title two, or not winning the title against him and not getting a performance bonus. So the stage is set, 59 days. You are, you are moved on. I'll kind of get you out of here on this, Michael. We've already talked about, you know, the reality of the Connor situation. I didn't ask this question, but I do want to ask you because you are a pretty even-tempered guy. One thing I've always loved about you is even when guys try to trash talk on you, you've never let it get to you. Connor could have said anything. I knew this going into it. like Connor could have said anything you wanted.

He was never going to get under your skin, even though Connor loves to do that. But in all honesty, the way this whole thing played out and everything, the delays, all this stuff, do you hold any ill will towards Connor just because it seemed like maybe they were, I don't know how many, I don't know what kind of games were being played in terms of like, hey, I want this date, I want that date, I want this location. I don't know. Connor's got power. We understand that.

Connor absolutely has power to make certain demands that other fighters can't make. Do you hold any ill will towards them just based on how this whole thing played out? no not any more than i had at the very beginning you know i i don't blame him for anything i really don't you know the outsiders can look and say man he must hate connor look connor did this to him connor did that to him the ufc did this to him i did all this myself at any given time i could have jumped off the train and said ufc let me fight someone else at any given time i could have said i am done with this at any given time i could have said no to obligations and just changed course. I put myself in this position. It was a position I wanted to be in. It was a decision that

I made. So the problem with life, everyone who ails from all of their different things that they have ailing them and the unhappiness that they have has so much to do, so much more to do than they will ever realize with blaming other people and looking outside instead of looking inside, instead of looking at the man in the mirror and said, you caused this, you were in this position because of you and the cavalry isn't coming. Nobody is coming to save you. So that's the accountability that I live with. So do I want to punch Connor in the face and beat him and get my hand raised?

Absolutely. But I want to do it in the confines of competition and we will do it at some point. No ill will whatsoever. I caused this. I chose this path. And this path is now leading me to November 16th in the biggest fight of my life. You had a crazy start to your UFC career. You signed.

You immediately fly over to Abu Dhabi Way in his appearance. backup for a title fight with Khabib, then boom, you're right into the fight with Dan Hooker, and then right out of that, you go right into a title fight. Right now, you're in a very similar situation. You got November 16, Charles Olivera, Chance at Vengeance, maybe January, February, March, you get Connor. End of the year, you get Islam. That's another crazy run.

So I feel like this is like almost like a, you said, you said Chandler 2.0. This is like Chance 2.0. You get to kind of redo this again from the start of your USC career in a way. Absolutely. No, and it's, you know, you laid it out perfectly. I mean, that's, it's people, people hope and pray every single day for second chances and new leases on life and new leases on careers and new opportunities. And this really does feel like redemption. It really does feel like a second chance.

It really does feel like the perfect position to be in. And I'm excited. I, you know, I'm already training. I've been training for the last four weeks and bringing my weight down because I've known. And now I'm just happy that it's finally announced. The people are obviously pumped up about it. anytime Olivera and Chandler are fighting or fighting each other, especially, they're going to tune in and they're excited about it.

So November 16th is going to be a good night. I say it to you all the time, Michael, the sport is a better place with you in it. I'm glad you're back. I'm glad you're getting to fight this year. I had set a personal deadline. Like, if he's not back by December, man, we've got to see Chandler back in there.

I'm so glad you're back, man. Obviously, this is an incredible fight. And as you said, I know it's not Connor, but you and you and Olivera sharing space with John Jones, Steve, that you could get outside of Connor, you could not imagine a bigger scenario to be on. So this is a perfect way to come back. I love this fight. I love this matchup,

but I love the way we kind of roadmap the next year for you. So thank you, always for the time. You know, I appreciate it. Obviously, have a great training camp down in Florida. And November 16th, man, I cannot wait. Yes, sir. I can't wait, man. Thank you so much for the support and keep on watching because this is going to be a really fun ride.

Look forward to it. Michael. We'll talk soon. Thanks, David. See you. Bye-bye. You're listening to the Vox Media Podcast Network. Okay, only 10 more presents to wrap. You're almost at the finish line. But first... There, the last one. Enjoy a Coca-Cola for a pause that refreshes.

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