Michael Chandler has been waiting on the sidelines for his chance to fight Conor McGregor. Meanwhile, some people have started questioning his decision not to fight someone else before ‘The Notorious’ makes his eventual comeback. Amidst these discussions, former UFC fighter Josh Thomson and veteran MMA referee John McCarthy weighed in on the significance of Chandler fighting McGregor.
As fans are eager to see Conor McGregor back in action, the combat sports world was taken aback when Mike Tyson recently announced his return to the squared circle for another boxing match. Josh Thomson drew similarities between the boxing icon and the MMA icon, claiming that they might be in a similar situation.
Are Conor McGregor and Mike Tyson in the same boat?
During a recent episode of the ‘Weighing In‘ podcast, Josh Thomson narrated an instance when he bumped into some people around his age during his son’s lacrosse practice. He mentioned that they had not heard about the Paul brothers, who are huge social media influencers. Thomson said, “I was literally at my son’s lacrosse practice… I had guys they never heard of Jake Paul or Logan Paul. They’re older, they are like me.”
However, they seemed to be aware of Mike Tyson fighting Jake Paul on July 20 and claimed that ‘Iron’s going to win the fight by a knockout. On the other hand, Josh Thomson seemed doubtful about that prediction since the legend is going to be 58 years old when he steps back inside the ring: “They’re like, ‘Yeah, Mike Tyson’s gonna knock him [Jake Paul] out.’ and I’m like [uncertain], ‘He may.’”
Nevertheless, the former UFC fighter understands that those people still have the image of Mike Tyson in his prime, and that’s where their prediction comes from. Similarly, the same can be said at the moment for Conor McGregor, as per Josh Thomson. “In their minds, they are still thinking old Mike Tyson. [It’s] no different than everyone that’s watching Conor McGregor fight. They’re thinking old Conor McGregor,” Thomson added. As such, he finally has his take on the importance of Michael Chandler’s fight against ‘The Notorious’.
Josh Thomson suggests not to hype up McGregor’s comeback fight
There is no doubt about the star power of Conor McGregor. But on the other hand, he has not fought as much as the other fighters currently on the UFC roster. As such, Josh Thomson claims that beating McGregor will not be as big of an achievement for Michael Chandler as some people believe it would be. It may be a cash grab for the 5th-ranked lightweight, but it would not help him further his title aspirations.
“The reality is how much are we going to give credence to this… victory [of Chandler over McGregor]? I don’t think we should give too much to it,” Josh Thomson further stated. He mentioned that being away from the sport for as long as Conor McGregor has will play a big factor in his comeback fight, and beating him will serve Michael Chandler no purpose.
The hardcore fans may see the Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler fight in a different light, but the fans of the Irishman will still be as excited to see the former double champion as they were when he was more active, or will they? We will find that out when the official announcement of McGregor’s return is out.
