Islam Makhachev previously discussed Conor McGregor’s choice to take on Michael Chandler. He asserted that the American’s recent form and fighting style played a role in the former UFC two-division champion selecting him as his next opponent.

McGregor has been out of action since his trilogy bout against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 in 2021. Following a long break due to surgeries and recovery, he returned to full fitness and appeared on ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ Season 31 as a coach opposite Chandler.

While they were initially expected to lock horns last year, they are now set to meet at UFC 303 on June 29.

Makhachev lauded McGregor for selecting the perfect opponent for his comeback. In an interview with Daniel Cormier last year, the reigning UFC lightweight champion explained why ‘The Notorious’ chose Chandler as his next opponent.

”McGregor is smart too. He looked at his [Michael Chandler] fight and saw, ‘This guy’s going to try that, he’s short and I can beat him,’ and chose the small guy… 100%. I know that. He can choose [Justin] Gaethje, [Charles] Oliveira, [Beneil] Dariush or someone.”

Check out Islam Makhachev’s comments below (13:18):

McGregor (22-6) has lost his last two fights against Poirier, while his most recent victory came in 2020 over Donald Cerrone. He has a 2-3 record in his previous five outings.

Meanwhile, in his last octagon outing at UFC 281, Chandler (23-8) lost to Poirier via third-round submission.

Daniel Cormier believes that Conor McGregor and Islam Makhachev will clash at some point

Islam Makhachev is on a 14-fight winning streak, and Conor McGregor has been out of action for three years. Nevertheless, Daniel Cormier thinks the two are being set up to fight despite their contrasting form in recent years.

The UFC Hall of Famer said on his podcast that Makhachev’s staff had praised ‘The Notorious’ for becoming the first to win two titles in the UFC before adding:

”I believe or I think or I would hope that’s with the idea that down the line, you can get that fight for Islam Makhachev because you know what it did for Khabib in terms of his star quality. Look what it did for Dustin Poirier, who Islam is fighting. So, if you can manage to get Conor versus Islam down the line, that’s the fight you want. Even Islam said it himself… He said, ‘You’d be an idiot not to fight Conor McGregor knowing what it means to you financially’.”

Check out Daniel Cormier’s comments below (0:25):