Michael Chandler takes 'extreme accountability' for Conor McGregor situation: 'It's on me'

Michael Chandler is back.

One of MMA's most reliable deliverers of entertainment and violence has been shelved for the past two years, mostly due to a seemingly endless wait for a fight with Conor McGregor. UFC 303 appeared to be the long-awaited resolution to the Chandler-McGregor saga this past July, however McGregor suffered a broken pinky toe that forced his withdrawal, continuing to leave Chandler in limbo. After remaining patient at first, Chandler finally decided enough was enough this past summer. He moved on to take a rematch with another former UFC lightweight champion, Charles Oliveira. The pair collide in a five-round non-title tilt in UFC 309's co-main event on Saturday in New York City.

Despite the McGregor matchup's terrible circumstances, Chandler hasn't completely given up hope. "The Notorious" has spoken openly about his plans to return next year and Chandler intends on being ready regardless of what he does in the meantime.

"Conor's doing his thing, I'm doing my thing, and there are 600 other people on the roster. He and she shall just be doing their own thing. And that is it," Chandler said on Uncrowned's "The Ariel Helwani Show." "I think if anything, I think it was a great process for me. It was beneficial.

"If he comes back, his road back to the UFC goes through one man. It goes through Nashville, Tennessee, and we have to finish TUF 31. So, I'll take care of business on Saturday night and see what is next."

Chandler, 38, has been criticized plenty by those in within the sport during his hiatus. It's not often MMA sees holdouts of such drastic lengths without injuries or other forcible setbacks attached.

As arguably the most flexible participant in the McGregor saga, Chandler doesn't place any blame on his rival or the promotion. While finger-pointing and excuse-making are easiest, he brings it all back to himself and the control he possessed from the beginning.

"Ultimately, it's about extreme accountability as well," Chandler said. "I could have, at any given time — the first moment that [UFC CBO] Hunter [Campbell] called me and said, 'Hey, we thought it was gonna be [this date]. It's not happening until at least here.' Any one of those moments I could have said, 'Hey, Hunter. I'm done, man. I'm not waiting any longer.' It's on me. I'm in control of my own career. They didn't tell me to wait. They said, 'This is when it's going to happen. Do you want to wait or do you not want to wait?' I'll wait. This is on Michael Chandler. This is a Michael Chandler decision that I made.

"Yes, there were a lot of outside circumstances, but the onus rests solely on my shoulders. So, I can't be mad at Conor for pulling out of that fight. I can't be mad at the UFC for not booking the fight early enough.

"If people would just realize that happiness and joy and peace and contentment is on the other side of the feelings of power that you have over yourself, when it comes to when you take extreme accountability for yourself and your actions," he continued. "Because one thing is for certain. We will get what we deserve. What we work for, what we don't work for, the corners that we cut, the things that we go above and beyond on, the discipline we have, the choices we make, we will get what we deserve. That's just how I live my life."

The former three-time Bellator lightweight champion has been a must-see competitor in the cage in his career, making it all the harder for fans to go two years without watching him compete. Coincidentally, Chandler's upcoming Oliveira showdown goes down in the same venue he last fought, the world-famous Madison Square Garden. This time around, Chandler hopes to walk away with his hand raised after he suffered his first career loss by submission when Dustin Poirier defeated him in November 2022.

Getting back in the win column won't be the only wrong Chandler looks to right in his fourth overall MSG appearance. Chandler is 0-3 in the building, and Oliveira is a past opponent who already defeated him.

Oliveira vs. Chandler 1 was a car crash for as long as it lasted in May 2021. The first lightweight title fight in the division post-Khabib Nurmagomedov saw Oliveira's reign begin with a second-round stoppage. Although it was the sixth loss of Chandler's 31-fight career (23-8), it came with the worst aftermath.

"That was probably the most painful point in my career after a loss," Chandler said. "Because that was my one opportunity, I thought.

"You never know with this sport, man. It's the what have you done for me lately business. It is you lose and all the sudden — I'm the flavor of the week this week. People are excited to watch me fight. You lose, what happens next? Are you able to build yourself back? Then God forbid there's any injuries or falling off the wagon.

"That was my one opportunity, I thought, to become finally — that this dream that I've had since I was 22 when I came into the sport, following Ben Askren and Tyron Woodley and saying, 'Hey, someday I want to be the No. 1 guy in the world.' And Charles Oliveira shattered that dream, and now it's just so serendipitous that now I get this opportunity against him again to right that wrong and get back in the win column to become the No. 1 contender, then fight a widely regarded — one of the greatest lightweights of all time, in who I think will be Islam [Makhachev]. I think he beats Arman [Tsarukyan] when they fight in I think January or whenever that is. So it's going to be interesting."

Chandler's hopes of challenging for the gold a second time after a possible Oliveira win are optimistic, but crazier things have happened. Starting with an exciting win over "Do Bronx" would theoretically get Chandler back in the lightweight top three, as Oliveira currently sits at No. 2 and Chandler at No. 7.

In their first encounter, Chandler had several moments of brilliance, surviving on the ground and hurting the Brazilian with strikes. He rewatched the first round this past week in preparation. The second round? There wasn't much to it, lasting only 19 seconds.

"The second round was me making a really silly mistake that I've since cleaned up," Chandler said. "I was too young, man. Even though I was old, I was too young. I was too new in the sport. I had a two and a half minutes of Octagon experience. And, man, not only have I grown as a fighter, but obviously these last two years out of competition, so many things I've changed and worked on. Turned into a completely different man."

Chandler entered the UFC in 2021 preaching to be "not here for a long time, here for a good time," and has stayed true to that quote. It's been a roller-coaster ride and one that he expects more good to come out of, no matter the results.

"If a bad thing happens to you — the Conor fight, the build-up, time waiting, the fight falling through, squandering the bag, all the naysayers pointing fingers at me, laughing at me — if a bad thing happens to you but a good thing comes from it, was it really a bad thing?" Chandler said. "That has been revealed to me so many times in my life. On Saturday night, it comes to fruition."