Chandler Expects A Weaker McGregor – ‘I Hit Harder, I Dominate Him’

“I don’t need to get into a firefight with a guy who has got a bigger rifle than me. I think I hit harder than he does. His time out of the cage has lent itself to his timing not being what it used to be, his movement not being what it used to be, his reflexes not being what they used to be. He’s been out of the cage three years by the time we fight. …Go out there and get the finish and just absolutely outclass and dominate him,” Chandler said

There is a danger Chandler underestimates his opponent. McGregor is a former two-weight world champion who knows what it takes on the biggest stage. Chandler has never won a world title. The crowd will likely be on McGregor’s side, leaving Chandler with much pressure to deliver. A win propels his career to another level, while a defeat leaves Chandler with little elsewhere to go. 

Rousey On Rogan

Elsewhere, Ronda Rousey has fired back at Joe Rogan for his past comments about her skills. 

Rousey, the ex-UFC Bantamweight Champion, set the record for having the most successful title defences. She took that number to six, which has since then been overtaken by Valentina Shevchenko. Rousey’s career ended poorly, losing back-to-back fights against Holly Holm (UFC 193) and Amanda Nunes (UFC 207).

Rousey would retire from the UFC in 2016. Rogan had been critical of Rousey’s style, saying she was one-dimensional. Since then, Rousey admitted her losses were due to a history of sustaining concussions before her fights. The fighter admitted she was left hurt by Rogan’s comments, feeling betrayed at how the narrative changed when she left the UFC. 

“It was disappointing to see how happily everyone turned on me. People like Joe Rogan who were crying in the ring out of the honor to call my fights, people I considered friends in the media, so quickly turned on me. I’m also kind of grateful for it, in a way, because it forced me to separate other people’s perception of me, from my own perception of myself, which I hadn’t realized had become intertwined.

“When you have that outpouring of love and support from people, you’re being love-bombed from the world. And how do I keep this going? I was pandering to everybody and doing things that other people would think was cool, but I didn’t really enjoy…“It wasn’t real love, it was fake. It’s a reflection of themselves and what I represent to them…MMA media hates me, but it’s fine. They’ve all just doubled down and said I’m making excuses…not giving credit where it’s due. I’ll be waiting on that call forever,” Rousey stated