Conor McGregor urged to face Chandler in UFC return as he’d be ‘willing to stand’ with him and is ‘there to be hit’

CONOR MCGREGOR has been urged to fight Michael Chandler in his eagerly-anticipated return to the octagon.

The UFC’s poster boy is targeting a return to action early next year following a 16-month hiatus from the octagon.

APConor McGregor hasn’t set foot inside the octagon since breaking his leg last year[/caption]

INSTAGRAM@THENOTORIOUSMMAMcGregor is targeting a return to the octagon early next year[/caption]

The Notorious has been urged to face Michael Chandler in his comeback fight

McGregor, 34, has a wealth of options for his comeback fight – but former two-division champion Daniel Cormier reckons he should consider locking horns with fan favourite Chandler.

During the latest edition of DC & RC, he said: “I think it’s Michael Chandler [should be next].

“Honestly… I think that Michael Chandler’s last fight is why he might get the Conor McGregor fight.

“RC, we saw him try to wrestle Dustin Poirier, and even though he’s a wrestler and in phenomenal shape, he did get tired in that third (round)… when he got tired, he made a mistake, and [Poirier] submitted him.”

Cormier reckons Chandler’s willingness to throw caution to the wind and not to rely on his wrestling may land him the biggest fight of his career.

He added: “He also was willing to stand with a guy that hits hard, is predominantly a striker, and tested himself.

“I think, because he fights in that way, it makes a guy like McGregor go, ‘Wait a minute, I want him.

“Because I know this guy’s gonna be there to fight, this guy’s gonna be there to hit, and I also know that this guy will not be trying to wrestle me for the entirety of this fight.

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“He’ll stand with me and he doesn’t have the background I have in striking.”

McGregor hasn’t set foot inside the octagon since breaking his leg in his trilogy fight with Poirier last July.

The Irishman has undergone a dramatic body transformation during his hiatus from the cage – which he plans to return to before the end of the first quarter of 2023.

During an impromptu Instagram Q&A, he said: “I’m going to be back soon, hopefully.

“Early 2023 I’m aiming for. Sometime in that first quarter.

“That will give me a good couple of months [to prepare].

Conor McGregor must re-enter the USADA testing pool for six months before returningSPORTFILE

“Once I wrap this up in a couple of days, get the camp going [for] a good couple of months. And get going.”

The Dubliner, however, will have to first return to the United States Anti-Doping Agency for a minimum of six months – unless he’s given an exemption – before he can return to action.