Sharing on his personal page, Michael Chandler said he was actively contacted by UFC by UFC. This boxer had the opportunity to compete, when he was ranked against Makhachev. This is considered as UFC's compensation for Chandler, who has been constantly missing the appointment with Conor McGregor.
However, Chandler said he wanted to see if Conor McGregor could recover. If chosen between McGregor and Makhachev, Chandler would like to prioritize playing with the “scandalous guy” instead of a belt match. This is Chandler's unexpected decision, who came to UFC quite late.
Currently, Michael Chandler has turned 38 years old. He was one of the strongest boxers of Bellator before moving to UFC at the end of 2020, early 2021. But since coming to UFC, Michael Chandler's career has encountered many difficulties.
Michael Chandler had the opportunity to compete for UFC belt in the second match at the tournament, but he failed. After that, he repeatedly lost whenever he had the opportunity to encounter top rivals. Therefore, this boxer seems to want to target other opportunities, instead of compete and make money.
As for Conor McGregor, his match was scheduled to retreat to September. McGregor's withdrawal was thought to be because he relapsed his leg injury, right at the broken stain that made this boxer have to quit for the past 3 years.