“I think, honestly, we got Michael Chandler after his prime,” Joe Rogan told Ilia Topuria in the latest JRE MMA Show #166. If you look at ‘Iron’s UFC run so far, Rogan has a point. It’s true that Paddy Pimblett absolutely destroyed Michael Chandler at UFC 314 with that third-round KO. But what if I tell you that ‘Iron’s career was already done before ‘The Baddy’ finished him? And the reason is not his age, but an opponent that he never really got to fight. Yes, we’re indeed talking about Conor McGregor being the one to destroy Chandler without even fighting him. After all, that’s exactly what the former lightweight challenger, Renato Moicano, claimed following the events of UFC 314. What exactly made ‘Money’ imply that?
Well, Chandler has made quite a bit of money, with an estimated net worth of around $3 million. He has found success outside the limelight by marrying the love of his life, adopting two kids, and fathering a third child in 2025. His UFC career, however, hasn’t been so lucrative, with just 2 wins and 5 defeats. After losing at the hands of Pimblett, he has now traversed the roads for fighters with 3-fight losing streaks. And according to Moicano, the blame lay on ‘The Notorious’.
During a recent conversation with Matthew Tanner, who’s commonly known as ‘Matty Betss’ because of his sports betting tips, Moicano said, “I know a lot of people are gonna trash on me because I’m trashing Michael Chandler, but in reality, McGregor destroy his career, brother. I think that was f—– McGregor’s fault, brother. You know, two years without fighting, waiting, waiting, waiting, brother.” That was when Tanner pointed out Chandler’s age. ‘Iron’ is currently 38 years old, who wasted two years waiting for McGregor to return. After losing to Dustin Poirier in late 2022, the talks of McGregor vs. Chandler began to take over the internet. But the fight didn’t get announced until 2024. Even then, McGregor was forced to pull out owing to a broken pinky toe. Needless to say, waiting for McGregor was the worst mistake that Chandler made.
Moicano continued, “Like, I’m 35, soon to be 36, I cannot wait two years to fight whoever, you know. I have to fight as soon as possible. And I think that was a huge mistake by Michael Chandler being waiting for McGregor. I know it’s the money fight. But you cannot count on McGregor, you know. He’s talking about being president, you know. He’s talking about f—– president of Ireland.”
Renato Moicano believes that Chandler’s decision to wait out for Conor’s return cost him years off his career.
“McGregor destroyed his career. Two years without fighting, waiting. You cannot count on McGregor. He’s talking about being President” pic.twitter.com/g6jKsJ1MEt
— Show Me the Money Podcast (@showmethepod) April 16, 2025
The talk about Chandler’s fall has been going on for months now. Of course, losing to Charles Oliveira at UFC 309 was what gave the talks a kickstart. But losing to Pimblett via a KO? That’s a career-ending defeat for the former Bellator champion. And that’s exactly what the former UFC middleweight champion, Michael Bisping claimed.
Michael Bisping weighs in on the fall of Michael Chandler
Following the events of UFC 314, ‘The Count’ took to his YouTube talk show and claimed that Pimblett didn’t just defeat Chandler, he destroyed him. And this meant that ‘Iron’ would likely fall in the rankings and ultimately retire without ever wearing the belt. Bisping said, “And I don’t say this lightly but that was a career-killing performance for Michael Chandler. Yes, of course, he’ll fight again, yes he’ll still make money, yes people will want to tune in, but that’s it. There ain’t no more title talks. There’s no more see you at the top.”
Former UFC star Josh Thomson also had a similar view. Talking to ‘Big’ John McCarthy after UFC 314, Thomson claimed that Chandler had one foot out of the door right now. And the reason pointed at ‘Iron’ getting a bit too comfortable with getting hit. ‘Punk’ claimed that the Chandler he knew was the one who kept on trying to spin inside the body lock, and did so with many opponents. But that wasn’t reflected at UFC 314. It was indeed as if the former Bellator champion was done for good. ‘Punk’ said, “In this situation, literally settling on the bottom, literally just being comfortable just hanging out on his hands and knees just with no risk control, just kind of hanging there and letting himself get hit, those are the things that when I’m watching as a fighter he’s checked out.”
But Chandler wasn’t oblivious to his fall. After his third consecutive defeat, he stated that he lost even though his team prepared him well. But even though he was bested at UFC 314, he wasn’t beaten. He confirmed that he was still in pursuit of the lightweight peak. This seemingly boosted the fighting community’s hopes to watch Chandler succeed inside the Octagon. But will it actually happen? Only time can tell.
What are your thoughts on Moicano’s assessment? Do you also blame McGregor for Chandler’s fall? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.
The post “McGregor Destroyed His Career”- Father of 3, Michael Chandler Gets UFC Star’s Sympathy After Conor McGregor’s Betrayal appeared first on EssentiallySports.
