Michael Chandler interested in Nate Diaz if Conor McGregor fight doesn’t happen: “Respect the hell out of him”

Former UFC title challenger Michael Chandler would prefer to fight Nate Diaz if Conor McGregor doesn’t show.

‘Iron Mike’ has been out of action since a clash with Dustin Poirier last November at UFC 281. There, Michael Chandler suffered a third-round submission loss. Since then, he’s been in talks for a longshot fight with Conor McGregor, who has admitted that he would rather fight Nate Diaz instead.

Nonetheless, ‘The Notorious’ has been steadfast in the idea that he will fight Michael Chandler in his return. If that doesn’t happen, the former Bellator champion has a name in mind. On The MMA Hour, he discussed a hypothetical clash with Nate Diaz. For his part, the Stockton-based boxer hasn’t been seen since an August loss to Jake Paul.

The lightweight contender discussed the potential bout in length during a recent interview with Ariel Helwani. There, Michael Chandler stated that he doesn’t hold any ill will towards Nate Diaz, in fact, it’s the opposite. It’s because of that respect that he would love to fight him if his fight with Conor McGregor didn’t happen.

RELATED: MICHAEL CHANDLER EXPECTS CONOR MCGREGOR FIGHT TO BE ON A “VERY HISTORIC CARD”

“There are some moments where I’m like, is Conor really coming back?” Michael Chandler admitted on The MMA Hour when asked about his planned fight with Conor McGregor. “You know? Is he just trolling us all? Is he a real fighter anymore, is he a real fighter? Then, you think about who’s a real fighter, Nate Diaz is a real fighter. I’m a real fighter.”

He continued, “Now, obviously, people are going to come out and throw shade like ‘Why are you talking about fighting him you don’t care about the title, blah, blah,’. But, Diaz has always been a guy I wanted to fight. Not because I don’t like him, but because I respect the hell out of him, and I think it would be a lot of fun.”

“I would love to get smacked and flipped off by him in the cage, that would be fun.”

What do you make of these comments? Do you want to see Michael Chandler vs. Nate Diaz?