Michael Chandler has been “supposed” to fight Conor McGregor for what feels like a lifetime.

That’s coming from the perspective of someone who isn’t Chandler. Imagining how the former three-time Bellator lightweight champion feels is an entirely different story. Throughout the journey to the present day, Chandler has remained positive and told the MMA world not to feel sorry for him and how long his hold for a “Notorious” clash has taken.

However, that doesn’t mean that it’s been easy.

Chandler, 38, entered the UFC in a blaze of glory when he knocked out Dan Hooker in one round at UFC 257 in January 2021. Proclaiming that he wasn’t “here for a long time, but a good time,” Chandler used the victory to call out that night’s headliner, McGregor. Chandler has gone 1-3 in his four fights since that night (23-8 overall) and has been shelved for the past two years come November, waiting to fight the Irishman.

In a recent interview, Chandler opened up about the mental hurdles he’s battled throughout this process.

“He [my inner voice] does not think I deserve this fight but I do,” Chandler told Action Network. “He never would have, man, he never would have, and I think we all have that little guy or that little gal inside of us, and it’s okay to have them. I think it’s also okay to open up about it. It seems more genuine, and it’s more authentic to speak about your struggles, to speak about your shortcomings, to speak about your doubts. If you act like you are impenetrable and you’re bulletproof, it’s an unattainable psychology.

“I do hear the doubters, and I do hear the naysayers, and I do hear the haters, of course. We just keep on moving forward, and even though that little guy from that little town doesn’t believe that we were created to create this crazy life that we have, we just pat them on the back and say, it’s okay. Just keep on coming. We’re gonna keep on climbing.”

Although the potential matchup between McGregor and Chandler has centered around the big return of the former two-division UFC champion, it will also be one for Chandler. The difference is that one was by choice and the other recovery, as McGregor infamously broke his leg in his Dustin Poirier trilogy bout.

Well, he also became an “actor,” starring in Road House. Then there was the USADA situation. Plus The Ultimate Fighter 31, and the final nail that was the pinky toe injury before UFC 303 in June. Oh, he also became a part owner of BKFC. It’s been an active stretch for McGregor when you think about it. All the movement has just come outside the octagon rather than in it.

No matter what happens next in the MMA career of Chandler, he’s left fight fans with more than enough lasting memories and been one of the most entertaining 155-pound fighters since he debuted in 2009.

“I have definitely learned how to silence [my inner voice] more,” Chandler said. “I was a small guy from a small town who was taught to do small things, and I think there’s just so many people that do resonate with that message, that message of, ‘Mom and dad told me,’ or ‘Grandma and grandpa told me,’ or ‘The people in my town told me’ that this is what we do — this is the level that we climb to, and we don’t climb past that because we are Chandlers, or we are from High Ridge, Mo.

“So I have continued to climb out of that box my entire career. I think there’s a lot of people that that story resonates with from around the world. It is part of the human condition. And I think some dragons you slay and some you get really good at pushing into a corner and managing them and realizing that they are your friend. I was mad at the little guy for a very long time, and then once I began to acknowledge him and became friends with him, and realized that there are a lot of great things that I have accomplished and great things that I have acquired in this life because of him. I stopped hating him and just started to embrace him and enjoy the ride. We’re on this journey together.