Conor McGregor has poked fun at Michael Chandler on social media after the lightweight contender suggested he is the stronger man.
‘Notorious’ recently announced his eagerly anticipated comeback bout against Chandler will take place on June 29 and shockingly claimed they’ll compete at middleweight.
3McGregor wants to be the first UFC fighter to score KOs in three different divisionsCredit: @TheNotoriousMMA – Twitter
McGregor has previously fought as high as welterweight, but his next opponent is one of the smaller 155lb fighters currently on the UFC roster.
Many MMA fans think the Irishman is attempting to stack the odds in his favour by forcing Chandler to bulk up, but ‘Iron’ insists he is more than capable of competing at 185lbs.
The American believes he is stronger than McGregor, regardless of weight.
“I don’t believe that size is an advantage,” Chandler said on his YouTube channel.
“I would stay the same exact weight I am right now, and I would just eat a little bit more and have the same camp so I can still get just as shredded as I looked like at 155, fighting at 185.
“He is not stronger than me. So, I don’t need to gain weight, I don’t need to gain any more strength, I don’t need to do any more than what I’m already doing. The dude is not stronger than me.”
“Now, he’s a natural 155-pounder. I’m a 155-pounder. We would just be fighting at 185. He’s not stronger than me. I would like anybody in the comments or anybody to tag me in videos of him lifting heavy weights.
“Go out there and show me a video of Conor McGregor lifting heavy, heavy weights. I actually looked before I got on this video, you can’t find any videos of this man lifting heavy, heavy weights.”
3’Notorious’ tried to prove middleweight won’t suit his rivalCredit: @NotoriousJesse -X
3And insisted his main priority is lifting UFC titles, not weightsCredit: Zuffa LLC via Getty
Chandler’s comments quickly made their way back to McGregor, who initially reacted by simply posting two crying laughing emojis on X – formerly known as Twitter.
‘Notorious’ followed that up by sharing a side-by-side image posted by a fan that shows how they both look while weighing 185lbs.
McGregor added the caption: “Coming soon on PPV muhahahaha.”
The 35-year-old then honed in on a particular portion of the rant where Chandler claimed to have scoured the internet looking for footage of the MMA legend lifting in the gym.
McGregor wrote: “Lifting belts > Lifting weights.”
UFC CEO Dana White is yet to confirm a date or weight for McGregor’s return.
It’s currently unclear if he will fight at UFC 302 this summer or if MMA’s premier promotion has a different plan for its biggest star.
