Michael Chandler believes he has the skillset | MMA News
Win, lose, or draw, light-weight contender Michael Chandler all the time brings pleasure to the octagon.
The former three-time Bellator light-weight champion made his octagon debut at UFC 257 in January 2021. He stopped Dan Hooker in the first spherical after which fought for the vacant title towards Charles Oliveira in his subsequent battle. He misplaced to Oliveira after which to Justin Gaethje in his subsequent outing earlier than logging a spotlight reel knockout over Tony Ferguson.
Chandler then fought Dustin Poirier and misplaced through submission however earned ‘Fight of the Night’ honors. He then rematched Oliveira at UFC 309 final November. The battle went the distance however Oliveira was the clear winner. The bout additionally earned ‘Fight of the Night’ honors. In truth, exterior of the first match towards Oliveira, Chandler has earned a bonus in all of his different UFC bouts.
Chandler was questioned by legendary boxing coach Teddy Atlas whether or not it was more important to win or to go away the followers 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 stated. “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 report does not inform the entire story. His 4 losses have been to fighters ranked in the prime three. He hasn’t misplaced to anybody that hasn’t held an interim title or the undisputed championship. Chandler has confirmed that he can compete at the prime of the division. The query 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 stated.
“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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