\u201cIron\u201d Mike knows \u201cNotorious.\u201d<\/p>\n
Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) two-division champion<\/a> Conor McGregor finally returned to competition this past weekend (Sat., July 11, 2026) against Max Holloway at UFC 329<\/a>, but unfortunately, his highly anticipated comeback lasted just 69 seconds as he injured his knee inside the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada (watch it<\/a>).<\/p>\n Since then, plenty of fighters<\/a>, fans, and analysts have weighed in on what happened<\/a>, what went wrong, and what could be next for McGregor. And now, one of the men who spent years waiting to fight him has offered his thoughts.<\/p>\n Former UFC Lightweight title challenger Michael Chandler, who was scheduled to fight McGregor in 2024<\/a> before the Irish superstar withdrew with a broken toe<\/a>, does not believe \u201cThe Notorious\u201d showed up just to collect a paycheck.<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of speculation is going on out there,\u201d Chandler said today in an Instagram video. \u201cA lot of people disappointed about how the fight went. A lot of conspiracy theories going on out there. I understand people are upset. I understand people are let down by this massive return that everybody wanted to see, the massive return that everybody wanted to be entertained by. \u201cA guy like Conor, who comes out in the first three seconds, jumps across the cage, turns his body, throws a kick, lands weird, leg buckles, then throws another kick, leg buckles, throws a punch, leg buckles,\u201d Chandler said. \u201cAnd everybody\u2019s trying to figure out, \u2018Hey, was Conor injured prior to the fight? Did Conor just show up and hoodwink everybody, and he just showed up for a paycheck and doesn\u2019t care who he hurts in the process?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n For Chandler, that theory does not add up.<\/p>\n \u201cI would be absolutely surprised, like the most surprised person on the planet, if Conor just showed up for a paycheck, limped in there, and said, \u2018I don\u2019t care. I\u2019m going to give you guys one minute, shave my head into a mohawk, show up, do the intros, and then just bow out one minute later,\u2019\u201d Chandler said.<\/p>\n Chandler knows the frustration better than most.<\/p>\n He coached opposite McGregor on The Ultimate Fighter<\/a> and was supposed to finally fight him during International Fight Week in 2024. However, McGregor withdrew just weeks before fight night, leaving Chandler without the red-panty night he had been chasing for two years<\/a>.<\/p>\n Still, even after losing out on that massive fight, Chandler does not believe McGregor has quit in him.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can say what you want about Conor,\u201d Chandler said. \u201cConor\u2019s mistakes are well documented. Conor\u2019s shortcomings are well documented over the past 15 years in this sport, but one thing he is not, he\u2019s not a quitter.<\/p>\n \u201cOne thing he is not is a bamboozler,\u201d Chandler continued. \u201cHe\u2019s going to make you look left when really he\u2019s doing something on the right here and there to build fights and to build storylines and to make you think and make you feel something, but he\u2019s not the type of guy who will show up to a fight injured and bow out within one minute.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re missing the fact that we are just in a crazy sport in which we are pushing our bodies to the limits,\u201d Chandler continued, \u201ca lot of times contorting them and taking massive amounts of force at any given moment.\u201d
Chandler then broke down how quickly things appeared to fall apart for McGregor.<\/p>\n