Josh Thomson says Michael Chandler beating Conor McGregor won't be impressive: 'It's not a high-level fight'
Josh Thomson doesn’t see beating Conor McGregor as an accomplishment for Michael Chandler.
Chandler is expected to welcome McGregor back to the UFC, possibly during International Fight Week. If McGregor does return on June 29, it will have been almost three years since he last fought – a TKO loss to Dustin Poirier where he broke his leg.
However, it’s not just the layoff that Thomson is concerned with. It’s what McGregor has been doing during his time away.
“When Nate Diaz did it (beat McGregor), it was special,” Thomson said on his Weighing In podcast. “We thought Conor was the man, and Nate did it coming in on what? Two weeks’ notice? That was amazing, and it was the way the fight played out.
“It was amazing because he got his ass kicked for the first round. He started coming on, and then in the second round, everything happened. But, if Chandler did it (beat McGregor), I don’t even think we would be impressed. You beat a dude that’s been doing movies and drinking and partying for three years.”
McGregor just wrapped up promoting the movie “Road House,” which was released March 21 on Prime Video. “The Notorious” has lost three of his past four fights, and hasn’t gotten his hand raised since knocking out the now retired Donald Cerrone in January 2020.
“Why are we giving credence to the victory over someone who is definitely been removed completely from training? (McGregor’s) not really training the way he was when he was fighting Dustin (Poirier), or when he was fighting Khabib (Nurmagomedov), or when he was fighting Eddie Alvarez and Jose Aldo. So why are we putting so much on this fight?
“I think it’s going to be a great fight. I think it’s going to be a fun fight. Someone’s is getting knocked the f*ck out. I’m not discrediting the fight at all in terms of the level of entertainment, but I don’t want to give it too much love and be like, ‘This is a high-level fight.’ No, it’s not. It’s not a high-level fight. We’re not getting the best Conor McGregor.”