Michael Chandler claims to be ‘frontrunner’ to face Conor McGregor as UFC legend hints next fight is already arranged

UFC lightweight Michael Chandler has claimed that he is the frontrunner to face Conor McGregor in his comeback bout to the octagon.

The 36-year-old secured one of the most brutal knockouts in UFC history earlier this month after stopping Tony Ferguson with a viral front kick.

After back-to-back defeats against Charles Oliveira and Justin Gaethje, the Missouri native has put himself back into contention for world honours.

And he is now seeking a dust-up against the Notorious in the hope a victory could see him land a second title shot.

McGregor has been out of action since last year after suffering a broken leg in his trilogy bout defeat against rival Dustin Poirier.

But he has recovered quicker than expected, and hinted on social media on Tuesday that his comeback fight has already been arranged.

Following Chandler's win against Ferguson, he called out McGregor in his post-fight interview.

McGregor, 33, then took to Twitter to accept his challenge while also congratulating him on his stunning performance.

And now Chandler has claimed that he feels like he is the most likely opponent for the Dubliner next.

Speaking on , the ex-Bellator lightweight champ said: "I feel like I’m the frontrunner right now, I could be the frontrunner.

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"I’m exciting, I got the hype, I got the people behind me, I got the knockouts, I got the hillbilly fights with Gaethje, I got the callout.

"People can see me on the mic and they know there’s going to be some verbal jiu-jitsu going on there on the microphones, me and him going back at it, respectively, of course, on my side at least.

"I think I’m on the cusp of being the guy who’s in the conversation with Conor and very few people get in the conversation with Conor.

"There you have to take it a little more seriously or put a little bit more weight in that.

"I still think I beat Conor, I’m fighting next for the title anyway. Nothing is guaranteed, this sport moves quickly. Who knows.”

Chandler also revealed he is keen to pit his wits against McGregor in his homeland of Ireland.

He added: "I think it’s called Croke Park or something, there is a big stadium out there, that they have talked about doing, Croke Park or something like that.

"That would be awesome too, I would love to go into enemy territory."