Ariel Helwani: How Long Should Michael Chandler Wait for Conor McGregor? - The MMA Hour

Ariel Helwani discusses UFC Saudi Arabia, Bellator Dublin, PFL event, Kelvin Gastelum’s weight issues, what’s next for Robert Whittaker, PFL vs. Bellator, Conor McGregor’s appearance at Bellator event, McGregor’s injury and future, and more.
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[@aryanmn209]

conor talk starts at boys 34:50 🙌🙌

[@eliotcrowell9969]

You enjoy listening to them talk???

[@leroyfisher2138]

✌️

[@Sinisterkid34]

@@eliotcrowell9969you’re complaining that he did the work for you.

[@mattevans911]

Legend

[@eliotcrowell9969]

@@Sinisterkid34 I guess you are right

[@josephalbarran_cs]

chandler will do what he's told

[@robertdavison3738]

That’s it. He wants a commentator spot. He wants it bad.

[@unclejunior2668]

Give that man Gamrot on a random fight night 😂

[@ramonbriones4487]

Time stamps? This dude rambling on pfl and ufc for 10 minutes. I dont wana wait for a 1 min click bait topic.

[@cloudvsSephirof]

Sometimes he rambles about WWE too 💀

[@RendezvousWithRyan]

34:50

[@slicvm]

Casual

[@ramonbriones4487]

@@cloudvsSephirof that's the worst man. It's so goofy

[@ramonbriones4487]

@@RendezvousWithRyan thanks man

[@grandmastersub]

Chandler should wait until UFC 600. Maybe he can triple his investment plan by then 😂👍

[@Bill_Dippertly]

UFC 700 will set him up for a sweet retirement plan

[@bigvsouthphilly2156]

Chandler is 100% obsessed with Conor

[@Bill_Dippertly]

@@bigvsouthphilly2156 Chandler would go bobbing for apples

[@RandomTrols]

Most investors would've passed away by than 😢

[@thatjack4]

I can’t believe we’re STILL having this conversation. The answer is he should’ve gave up a while ago. If Conor ever comes back resign nate and have it be both their last.

[@bigvsouthphilly2156]

Chandler is obsessed with Conor. I truly believe he thinks about conor 90% of every day of his life

[@mrc.p8423]

He thinks about the money hes gonna make for sparking the irishman out for sure

[@21DMN]

Topuria vs Hollowey needs to be in the Sphere. Is better fight than O Malley vs Merab

[@StiggyMcQueen]

Man’s going to get knocked tf out IF the fight ever happens.

[@jayrock2288]

I doubt it bro

[@yourfriendlyneighborhoodgrower]

Feed Gastelum to Chimaev at 185 pounds!

[@dingodongo2489]

Khamzat is retired lol

[@GhettoDetective]

Whittakers KO of Ikram reminded me of when Lennox Lewis KO Andrew Golota (in boxing). Almost in the same fashion of not giving their opponent the chance of getting their rhythm started.

[@nocturnaltube]

Michael Bisping will be hosting as the new journalist for the mma hour with GC and Ric. Ariel will be out as a free agent.

[@aelfering88]

Thanks!

[@connorfuhrman6986]

Nice man

[@samseptember6404]

He should wait till he’s 87 then call it quits

[@addictedtosuccess156]

Chandler sat out for 2 years healthy waiting for a payday 😂

[@robertdavison3738]

Chandler…dude…broski…MOVE TF ON. You waiting for Connor is a meme that will last forever. MOVE TF ON

[@abemartinez9623]

He should not wait . Book another fight create a huge hype. Shadow little connie

[@jgreen802]

He's scared he will lose and Conor will choose to fight someone else.

[@TB-bh8tj]

Losing increases your chances to fight Conor. ​@@jgreen802

[@robertdavison3738]

At this point, Chandler waiting for Conor is an mma meme that will NEVER go away.

[@friedmotherboards2395]

Conor has a broken toe lol. That’s a fast recovery.

[@jmz2144]

Charles rematch

[@Andycinemafilm]

At this point, Where is Francis Ngannou? He’s was supposed to elevate PFL.

[@aznduro]

There’s not a strong case for Rob vs Izzy 3 despite Rob arguably winning the second, yet there’s a strong case for Sean vs Izzy when Izzy got completely shut out over 5? Yeah you’re fried mate

[@joshuasmith6346]

I cant believe they'd even consider sean fight another match for the title. Ariel and that other dudes huffing dust off

[@collinsides3540]

They’re talking about in the scenario where Izzy beats DDP and holds the belt? Why wouldn’t Sean fight Izzy again if he had the title

[@iceKOId]

Ariel hates Strickland

[@hombreleon]

12:29 I believe Shara would have trouble getting medical clearance in the USA due to his eye situation.

[@user-pw4do5ff9m]

Imagine if chandler gets knocked out in the first minute

[@DrummingKid101]

How long should the UFC keep waiting on Conor McGregor?

[@user-cc2tu9gm6e]

Chandler a fool. He ain't getting PPV cut. He could have fought 3,4 times by now

[@KareemAbdul-jabberUFC]

How many more times are people gonna use it for use

[@simonlee498]

Ufc 500 will be historic

[@motiv870]

Alright somebody's got to say this. Michael Chandler said when he got into the UFC "I'm not here for a long time. I'm here for a good time" he's now officially WASTED alllllll his time on the Conor fantasy. Also why is nobody mentioning the fact that he never needed to "wait" for Conor at all? UNLESS he was too concerned about fighting and LOSING and then no one wants to see him fight Conor anymore. If Chandler went out there and beat 2 top 5 guys doesn't it make the Conor fight even more appealing not only that if he fought 2 or 3 great fights instead of waiting for Conor he might've had a shot at becoming champion!

[@vkloudzy]

Is showing the crowd count as something local showing where you are located 😂

[@MikeFromBensonhurst]

These clowns really hate Strickland , I think most people feel he best Du Plessis & should have gotten an immediate rematch because it was such a close fight . He went on to beat Costa and should face the winner of Izzy Du Plessis. These losers are just hoping he loses to Whitaker .

[@LuisRodriguez-oc8hg]

No follow up question about Shara because of the one eye being clear. The commissions wont clear him here

[@ThusSaith]

Michael hasn't waited as long as Conor has had to come back. Conor might as well go to his pub and hide there, no one but dana and media care about Conor. We done saw him get handled, HANDLED by Dustin. He's not beating Charles or Islam, so his career @155 is done. Hence, why he talks about different weight classes. Bc in his OWN weight class, he's done w

[@AC-ac999]

Waiting until the end of 2024 given the almost 2 years he has already been on the bench is so significant given Father Time is undefeated, tasking 2+ years off without fighting Chandler will never be the same, just a fact, with few exceptions no one has successfully done it

[@Newfoundadventures-2024]

If Chandler is legitimately making the equivalent of 10x his regular fight pay, waiting is a no brainer. I would just hope he is able to have at least some guaranteed $ for the trouble.

[@aaronk5451]

UFC 400. Let’s goooooo

[@ahmedabdelazim7110]

Chandler should wait and fight Connor’s son.

[@user-cc2tu9gm6e]

Can the entire media please stop saying "To your point". For some reason that didn't exist 5 yrs ago & everybody got points across

[@pranavmalavalli5582]

If he's actually getting 10x his contract it's more than justified to wait even 3 years, he wasn't going to fight 10x in 3 years at 36

[@Smilingpolitely553]

Why would UFC pay Chandler 5 million to fight? They could get anyone to fight Conor for 500 grand and the PPVs would be unaffected. He could fight Justin or Max or even Poirier again for less and they're all bigger names than Mike.

[@pranavmalavalli5582]

@@Smilingpolitely553 that's why I started with "if ". It's what Conor claims, I'm not sure if it's true

[@robertdavison3738]

@@pranavmalavalli5582appreciate the admission of not knowing

[@Smilingpolitely553]

@@pranavmalavalli5582 yeah for sure, if it's true definitely worth the wait. I just can't see it personally, I feel like maybe he could get 1-1.5 mil but by the time he fights he could have had 5 or 6, I think he's already lost on this. And now he's 39 so there's not going to be a lot of time to cash in on a win against Conor for future fights

[@Adam-hx1gw]

38

[@user-br5rz4cb3f]

It must be Shara bullets eye... Because supposedly he is coming to the States to do a movie... they also may really want him to do the middle east gigs as he is a popular big name there...

[@Dean_Bradley]

Chandler should wait as long as he feels like waiting.

[@alan8887]

My advice to Chandler is he should take a walk and book another fight. Connor's word is untrustworthy. Rather sickening how he wasted Chandlers time.

[@GGGame72749]

Why couldn't Chandler have taken fights this whole time then take Conor when he was ready

[@jaysonj9327]

The most absurd irony of this entire fiasco is that Chandler's fight IQ is so low he'd probably get knocked stiff if he and Conor ever did fight as unlikely as that is. Dude should have ignored Conor, fought 2 - 3 times per year, made good money, built his brand and he'd be a fight or so away from retiring to a motivational speaking gig or a broadcasting gig. Instead he's basically thrown away the last stage of his fighting career chasing an obsession who doesn't give a rat's ass about him in return.

[@nyteowl8069]

Theres two things that matter. Belts and Money. Its easy to say Chandler should have passed on the Conor fight and got his ass whooped by Max, Arman, Fiziev. He was already heading out of his prime before he took the layoff.

[@GodannarJunkie]

PFL only kept the Bellator name because they do really good gates in Europe. The brand is well known. The PFL isn’t. I don’t think the promotions are separate because of a tv deal. But I could be wrong. What I know I’m not wrong about is you can’t be a professional fighting league and not have all the normal weight classes. ESPECIALLY when you buy out another promotion and their champion at one of those divisions is considered top 5 (Eblen)

[@user-br5rz4cb3f]

Izzy signs to fight DDP , Whittaker back up... Izzy drops out , Whittaker beats DDP , Strickland fights DDP later... No one is drinking , no women in crowd , only 12000 tickets sold...next time it will be better

[@stoicsavage509]

"Canada going toe to toe with Argentina" losing 2-0 and having 35% possession is NOT going toe to toe 🤦🏻‍♂️

[@dequanroberson5405]

Bo nickal vs Kelvin’s at 185 and if he gets past kelvin give him hermanson

[@joshdubovsky5409]

Whitaker should change weight classes.

[@Swami650]

Can we get GC a bigger mike?

[@maguwi]

I'd say not having ring girls was a local sprinkle....

[@mixedmartialanarchist6469]

Some have reported that McGregor has two fights left on his ufc contract. If his leg is bum, does ufc own him forever?

[@huntermitchell3314]

If you don’t fight for four years the contract is voided with that civil case that just went through the courts

[@TB-bh8tj]

​@@huntermitchell3314Yes. It's called a sunshine clause I have it on many of my employees contracts.

[@robertdavison3738]

@@huntermitchell3314what?! This is news to me…not knocking you, but i can’t even imagine a world where UFC agrees to that. If this is true thanks for laying it down! I probably skimmed too fast on legal articles and missed it

[@huntermitchell3314]

@@robertdavison3738 yeah not sure that applies to existing contracts or when act is in effect. Now I only heard this via aerial about a month ago and a few articles that were copy pasted on reddit . I’m neither lawyer or a smart person haha

[@olbapoli4074]

Re rob - I like the guy. Excellent fighter BUT he beat an unranked fighter coming from very short notice, already in a weight cut and most likely had to do another one.

[@DrWeird-zw5dc]

"had a cup of cawlfee" lols

[@jimmypinch]

He should wait for his whole life then maybe he can fight MacGregor in the afterlife 😊😂

[@carmelohernandez5171]

Honestly, just reading the headline. I don’t think he should wait at all.

[@marksilas2437]

Chandler’s predicament reminds me of King Julian I from Madagascar! “How long is it going to take!!”

[@HighScroLLa]

Nobody's talking about McGregor being partners with the UFC like he always wanted. Dana White is more likely to take a fight before Conor McGregor!

[@slicvm]

Guess Chandler wasn't willing to take a dive

[@Cloud007.]

It's idiotic to say that anyone conor has fought has taken a dive.

[@slicvm]

​@@Cloud007.Cerrone

[@ItsTooRisky]

@@Cloud007.cowboy did

[@joshdubovsky5409]

Apparently you don't follow Strickland's socials....he's in Europe on vacation with his GF and is very obviously not available to fight Whitaker in less than two months. Additionally, Strickland beat DDP

[@jmz2144]

Lost 3 rounds to Dricus clearly, and last fight was pathetic it didn't deserve to be 5 rounds

[@themikarenolds2910]

DDP most likely runs the table beats izzy and strickland/witicker winner or both of them

[@mickomag2768]

The interest in the fight is gone its not like the two pound for pound are fighting or something

[@thecasual4698]

34 minutes to get to the point is crazy

[@couragethecowardlydog7333]

Michael Hachiko waited 2 years for his girl to respond to his emails and Urll think he gona give up on the Connor fight, Smh

[@BigDuttyDeezeHD]

BKFC is definitely bigger than PFL

[@evanlarsen9885]

Lmao watching this after the Oilers lost. Guess the five Florida fans were real happy.

[@Nicolas.Flamel89]

Go watch pirates documentary he still can see out that eye his eye vision is blurry. Literally had to take his eye out of the socket due to a issue mistake in surgery/didn’t take properly etc…..

[@petersonjoshua8561]

Sean deserves the title shot…. Are you fooling?

[@jm12green31]

Anybody that has great respect for who Dana White is needs to get their head examined.

[@icetray]

Punching and elbows are not the same stop the cap

[@Ruggz17]

Chandler gets no sympathy from me. He knew this could happen and he’s wasted the last handful of years left to compete

[@danielson6797]

Who me?

[@dtruth5769]

WHITTAKER LUCKED OUT THAT KHAMZAT DIDNT SHOW

[@adamb8575]

Strickland gets the title shot then whitaker we dont want to see that fight. Whitaker lost twice to izzy and sean won....

[@jrpyro310]

Ngl bro I didn’t know what tf you were talking about the first 30 min

[@travisspicer3271]

I personally think strictland should only fight for a title right now! He's done enough for his title shot. What rank was costa? And he beat him all 4/5 rounds. And had a close loss to dricus.

[@Youafool500]

If beating Costa is the benchmark to get a title shot then something is wrong, Costa is not interested anymore since Izzy

[@RealMattKiefer]

@@Youafool500he also arguably beat DDP. 1 of the judges, Dana white, most of the reputable media figures and plenty ufc fans think he won that fight. Judges are quick to say “damage wins fights.” DDPs face looked like dog food when it was over. Strickland was clean. DDP had multiple takedowns but did nothing with them.

[@didgya]

Strickland has earned a title shot over Izzy (I am an Izzy fan 😜) and should fight for the title next. It's up to the UFC to do the right thing but will they?

[@Youafool500]

@@RealMattKiefer I actually thought Sean won that fight, but if you look it up, it goes down as he lost, it’s what it is. I don’t have sympathy for any fighter losing on points, it’s MMA if you can’t get it done standing try and get a sub, so many ways to not leave it up to the dumb judges

[@NoGrrlLikeMe]

Ariel Let the Conor Conversation Die, nobody but Ariel is Glazing over another man Especially to Other Men who Aren’t Effected to His Fight Withdrawal.

[@41_balisingh20]

Strickland vs Whittaker is the dumbest idea by Ariel 🤡🤦

[@ANaughtyLlama]

Conor will hold out for another 6 months to fight Diaz instead of chandler. Wait until September. Then move on

[@jizzahnurfaze-to3zq]

Cant stand that Adesanya just gets to sit on the sidelines and get title shots whenever he wants without fighting. Closing in on a year without fighting after getting a beating , yet gets to walk into a title shot again.

[@robertdavison3738]

It’s not whenever he wants. Take a step back for a second….. I am not trying to insult you or others, but us fight fans tend to have a short term memory. Plus we were upset multiple fights Izzy didn’t perform some moral kombat moves we expected him to - the fact is: Izzy has won multiple world champions, NOT JUST UFC. The addition of Izzy to UFC was something very very special. He earned his way to the top of the UFC. He cleared out his division. What other division is that happening? You may get annoyed by his online persona, you may get frustrated he hasn’t performed a “ KILL HIM” move lately….. but his history in martial arts is rare and very dominating. The history plays a huge factor. Izzy didn’t just jump out of the call center job last year and decide to try this out.

[@themedicalmarvels]

I’m not listening to Ariel talk for an hour lol. What am I? His wife?

[@randycantwell1275]

Bullet can't fight in US because he has 1 eyeball !!😮

[@jizzahnurfaze-to3zq]

Whittaker is 0-2 vs Adesnya, losing once by stoppage. And 0-1 vs Duplessis via stoppage. Strickland outclassed Adesanya to a dominant decision, and lost a close decision to Duplessis. No reason for Strickland to fight Whittaker.

[@stephenwilliams4583]

Strickland v Whittaker is an awesome fight.

[@Gsjl1697]

Chama

[@robertdavison3738]

Love Alex!!!!!!!

[@DoubleMKGaming]

If all fighters were payed alot more, as they deserve. There wouldnt be a "need" for fighters to chase someone as dumb, as McNuggets..

[@anelvelic4038]

Chandler wait forever😂

[@bulletjones119]

Strickland should still be champ,damn Bobby knuckles!

[@robertdavison3738]

Snowflake Strickland too busy being emotional and melting over literally everything.

[@joshuasmith6346]

Strickland needs to wait this out until title shot. He doesn't need a fight before then. He beat the piss outta izzy and got robbed his last fight. Not saying Strickland and whittaker wouldn't be a banger of a fight but Strickland shouldn't have to fight another fight

[@joshuasmith6346]

​@@robertdavison3738atleast hes better than doggy diddler adisanya

[@paulyd6372]

Conor is a goof and a shell of the man he once was. He shredded RDA for pulling out for a worse injury. He’s a coked up, over the hill, has-been. Still the biggest draw UFC has but it doesn’t change what I just said.

[@user-br5rz4cb3f]

You are so right Ariel Strickland needs to go do the man dance with Whitteker

[@Hellkite-er5pg]

Strickland won't do it. He wants a title shot and only a title shot.

[@theBMF]

He shouldn't have waited at all

[@ramonsalazar32]

ariel calling conor the face of ufc in 2024 is the most laughable statement ever

[@user-cc2tu9gm6e]

NOBODY watches PFL or Belatore. Would not even know where to look... if I cared.. which I dont

[@twowheelindealin5109]

Shara bullet can’t fight in the United States because the sanctions for the fights here won’t allow him to compete with one eye

[@owaiscarneiro226]

He just needs to move on and fight somebody else chandler ain't the waiting time his a top G

[@joshuasmith6346]

Chandler sounds like me in my 1st ever relationship. 😅

[@drunkpaulocosta9301]

Nobody ever cared so he should keep fighting imo

[@edotball]

he broke his toe the day before the presser it was bad timing....... sounds abit dodgy that

[@bmbm1]

Bellator had an event wtf lmao

[@ElCyberWizard]

Ariel, no one is watching PFL and it’s okay.

[@user-yf1bj9hx8t]

Costa will get destroyed. He has never fought a wrestler first guy. Whitaker would have beat anyone they put there on Saturday.

[@leroyfisher2138]

I feel like Conor is shooting for the sphere. Dana said its gonna be 1 and done while being the best event ever. Conor wants to put on the biggest show he can. The sphere is going to be crazy

[@TB-bh8tj]

Yes, time frame for September sounds about right.

[@robertdavison3738]

Two fights on contract -cm

[@nyteowl8069]

Dana has said multiple times that Conor wont be at the sphere

[@Alexknowsbiz]

Watching Conor over the GOAT is blasphemy.

[@celebratecrypto3693]

I would love to see Chandler vs mcgregor power slap while mcgregors toe is injured then have a ufc fight in a few months then have a bkfc fight next year when his contract runs out of ufc. 3 back to back sold outs shows chandler and mcgregor

[@ELNinoLuke]

Hoe Nickel has no chance against Khamzat

[@lashadow8]

I want Chandler to wait for mcTAPper so that I NEVER have to hear his lame, cheap attempts to motivate. Chandler sucks and waters down the UFC talent pool.