Daniel Cormier thinks Michael Chandler is smart for going after Conor McGregor again.

Chandler (23-9 MMA, 2-4 UFC) called out McGregor (22-6 MMA, 10-4 UFC) after suffering a dominant decision loss to Charles Oliveira in Saturday’s UFC 309 co-main event at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Despite now coming off back-to-back losses to Dustin Poirier and Oliveira, Cormier doesn’t see Chandler’s chances of getting his fight with McGregor rebooked decreasing. In fact, he thinks it strengthens his case.

“I said this before the fight: I thought Chandler had a better chance of getting the McGregor fight if he lost,” Cormier said on his YouTube channel. “He lost that fight. He showed that you can hurt him, but he also showed how tough and durable he is.

“Michael Chandler doesn’t need to win all the time. He’s past that, in terms of who he is as a fighter. He’s past that. He once again won, even though he lost. He’ll get the McGregor fight, and it’s going to be massive, and I’m all for it.”

McGregor withdrew from his originally scheduled bout vs. Chandler at UFC 303 in June due to a broken pinky toe. When asked about McGregor’s status during the UFC 309 post-fight news conference, Dana White reiterated that it likely won’t be until late next year, meaning Chandler would likely have to wait quite a while once again.

“There is no doubt – Conor hits me up all the time, Conor wants to fight,” White said. “I told you guys he probably wasn’t going to fight in 2024 and he didn’t. He’s going to fight in 2025, probably at the end of the year. If it is earlier, that’s good for all of us.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 309.

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