Sam Patterson believes it's down to Conor McGregor to make his fight with Michael Chandler happen. McGregor had been hoping to make his long awaited return to the octagon this year, but UFC boss Dana White suggested fans would not see the promotion's biggest attraction in 2024. Chandler himself is getting annoyed at the delay and hit back at his rival this week, saying that he would soon be a ‘distant memory’ in the MMA world.
Watford welterweight Patterson, who won in impressive fashion at UFC 304 in Manchester by submitting Kiefer Crosbie in the first round, also rejected claims from some fans who claimed Chandler looks silly considering he has seemingly put his career on hold to wait for the riches a McGregor fight brings. “If anyone else was in [Chandler’s] position, they would have done the same thing. “I just think now it's starting to eat at him that two those years out could’ve been free.
You're chasing something that might not even be there now. But when he was doing it back a year ago–it shows how much time flies– it was worth waiting for because it's the McGregor fight. “It's worth the wait, worth waiting a year and a half.
Now it's two years down the line. And again, he isn't young, so how long has he got left on the clock?” McGregor hasn’t fought in the octagon since he suffered a broken leg in his UFC 264 trilogy bout against Dustin Poirier in 2021. He was originally scheduled to fight Chandler at UFC 303 in June, but injury meant it was Al.