Conor McGregor’s tense Ultimate Fighter showdown with Michael Chandler lasted 30 MINUTES

Michael Chandler has revealed he and Conor McGregor’s tense showdown in the opening Ultimate Fighter episode lasted for 30 minutes as they were made to wait in a gym during filming.

The two fighters are leading teams in the new series before they then fight each other later this year – a date and venue are still to be revealed. 

It will be the first time McGregor has been in the octagon since badly breaking his leg in a fight with Dustin Poirier nearly two years ago but judging by the opening scene in the new series, the Irishman hasn’t lost a shred of self-belief.

McGregor and Chandler met face-to-face in a strangely awkward scene; McGregor paced around in a sharp suit, seemingly unsure whether to goad Chandler while the American tried to keep his cool and stay out of what he later called ‘verbal ju-jitsu’.

‘What was the Mystic Mike prediction?’ McGregor asked Chandler with a smirk.

Conor McGregor’s tense encounter with Michael Chandler lasted for 30 minutes overall

‘Second round KO,’ Chandler responds. ‘Hit you with the hard ones in the first.’

‘Keep dreaming bud, keep dreaming,’ McGregor retorts. ‘Have I told you what weight it is gonna be? 185. You’ll do what you’re told. I am going to pin you. This is my game. This is my game forever.’

Speaking after the show was broadcast, Chandler lifted the lid on what it was like to come face-to-face with his tetchy opponent.

‘Conor and I had met, we shared a press conference before. When he fought Poirier, I fought Dan Hooker,’ Chandler said. ‘They said go and wait in the gym, I stood there for 10 mins and then they sent Conor in there and leave us for 30 minutes.’

For his part, Chandler still looked to get at McGregor. In an unseen slip later shown on ESPN after the episode, he told McGregor: ‘It’s the pressure you can’t deal with – the fight pressure.’

But Chandler revealed he didn’t feel a need to taunt McGregor excessively.

‘What do you do? Start talking trash-talking, insulting each other? Conor and I have a ton of respect for each other.

‘He is a wordsmith, so comfortable in that realm. I don’t think Conor wanted to come in spitting venom like he usually does. What is he going to say? I’m not going into the show thinking I am going to win the verbal ju-jitsu match.

‘Sometimes you have to lead with humility and show them they are not going to win that.’

McGregor still toyed with Chandler over the weight they will fight at.

‘It’s a good fight,’ McGregor said. ‘Have I told you what weight it is gonna be? 185? See what happens. Stay ready. 205? Good with 205? You’d make 155?’

Chandler said after the show that McGregor, 34, might not be able to carry the extra mass that he is clearly carrying.

‘He’s gonna slim down a little bit, I am sure,’ Chandler said. ‘You go into a training camp and you are gonna lose some excess mass. He has definitely put on some mass. 

‘Conor and I are about the same size. He picks the right photos for his Instagram feed. Can he carry that mass well? Can he be fast, reactive? It remains to be seen, he is definitely a lot bigger.’