Win, lose, or draw, lightweight contender Michael Chandler always brings excitement to the octagon.
The former three-time Bellator lightweight champion made his octagon debut at UFC 257 in January 2021. He stopped Dan Hooker in the first round and then fought for the vacant title against Charles Oliveira in his next fight. He lost to Oliveira and then to Justin Gaethje in his next outing before logging a highlight reel knockout over Tony Ferguson.
Chandler then fought Dustin Poirier and lost via submission but earned ‘Fight of the Night’ honors. He then rematched Oliveira at UFC 309 last November. The fight went the distance but Oliveira was the clear winner. The bout also earned ‘Fight of the Night’ honors. In fact, outside of the first match against Oliveira, Chandler has earned a bonus in all of his other UFC bouts.
Chandler was questioned by legendary boxing trainer Teddy Atlas whether it was more important to win or to leave the fans in awe of his effort.
“As I sit here today, the Michael that’s sitting here… You want to win, but there’s something that happens when that cage door closes,” Chandler said. “Since I was 14-years old and I started hand-to-hand combat and wrestling, there was only one speed. It wasn’t always thinking about the techniques. It wasn’t always thinking about how do I win. It was just like, how do I give my full self to this wrestling match? How do I give my full self to this fight?”
Chandler’s 2-4 UFC record doesn’t tell the whole tale. His four losses have been to fighters ranked in the top three. He hasn’t lost to anyone that hasn’t held an interim title or the undisputed championship. Chandler has proven that he can compete at the top of the division. The question heading into UFC 314 is can Paddy Pimblett?
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“At some point, that question has to be answered. Unfortunately for him, I’m the guy that question gets answered on April 12th. Obviously, I’m more seasoned. Obviously, I’m more of a veteran. I think I’m more skilled. Obviously, I think my strength of schedule is far and way, head and shoulders better and bigger than his. But, he’s got the opportunity. This is the nature of fight sports,” Chandler said.
“I’m not saying Paddy isn’t a top guy, or isn’t a scary guy. He hasn’t proven that yet. I believe my skillset is enough to not just beat him but to dominate him,” continued Chandler. “There’s less of a question on, ‘Is Michael Chandler that guy that we all think he is’ and more of a question of, ‘Where does Paddy Pimblett fit in all of this? And I think I will emphatically show people the answer to that question on April 12th.”
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