Michael Chandler always brings the big fight feel in his outings! Talk about covering someone in the heap of their own blood and sweat, just call the former Bellator champion. And probably that is the reason why Conor McGregor chose the Missouri native as his comeback opponent for UFC 303. However, in the wake of the Irishman’s pullout from the duo’s scheduled PPV clash, ‘Iron’ Mike decided that it’s better to get back into action than wait for something uncertain. After a failed return at UFC 309 against Charles Oliveira, Chandler’s now going to butt heads against rising star Paddy Pimblett at UFC 314, and he recently even revealed the reason why he took the offer to fight the Liverpudlian. Guess what? It all comes down to his positioning in Dana White’s promotion!
The former lightweight title contender claimed that his fight against Pimblett was just a veteran giving an up-and-comer a chance. Comparing it to other legends like Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje, who also gave fighters out of the top 10 a chance to fight them, ‘Iron’ claimed that he’s doing nothing different.
“He’s [Paddy Pimblett] got the opportunity. This is the nature of fight sports. It’s no different than [Dustin] Poirier taking the fight against Benoit Saint-Denis, who was outside the top ten. Justin Gaethje, the first time, fought Rafael Fiziev, fighting a guy outside of the top ten,” Michael Chandler told veteran boxing coach Teddy Atlas during an ESPN interview. But it doesn’t seem like that was his plan in the first place. After all, one only has to look at the array of juggernauts Chandler has faced ever since debuting at UFC 257.
It took Chandler just one UFC fight and one single victory and that too against Dan Hooker to secure a title shot against Charles Oliveira at UFC 262. He lost that fight but kept getting featured prominently in UFC PPVs, which led Tony Ferguson to claim that Chandler’s got ‘Dana White Privilege’, a term he coined himself. According to Chandler, he revealed that he had been facing criticism for Dana White giving him preferential treatment. However, he appeared to stand his ground when he tried to justify that the fights against the elite lightweights were nothing short of big risks for him, as he was putting himself on the firing line.
“At some point, you start to get the criticisms of, ‘Hey, you’re only fighting guys inside the top three, top five. Give one of these young, hungry up-and-comers a chance,’” Michael Chandler further stated. “For me, yeah, when the name got thrown across my phone line, I mean, compared to Oliveira, compared to Gaethje, compared to Poirier, compared to even Ferguson and Dan Hooker, who as No.5 at the time when I fought him, I have fought nothing but top guys and scary fights.”
There seems to be a lot of weight in Chandler’s claims. His outings against Gaethje, Poirier, Oliveira (twice), Hooker, and Ferguson are testament to his willingness to face the best guys in the division. However, Chandler felt as if taking the Pimblett fight offer was the right move to make because all the pressure’s on ‘The Baddy’ this time out. The Liverpudlian is on the rise with momentum by his side, and maybe a loss to a 38-year-old veteran will derail his run for the promotion. With that in mind, Chandler is aiming to fraud-check Pimblett at UFC 314.
“I’m not saying Paddy isn’t a top guy or isn’t a scary guy. He hasn’t proven that yet, and I believe my skill set is enough not just to beat him but to dominate him,” Michael Chandler stated. “There’s less of a question on ‘is Michael Chandler still the guy that we all think he is?’ and more of a question is of where does Paddy Pimblett fit into all this. I think I will emphatically show people the answer to that question on April 12.”
MMA: UFC 274-Chandler vs Ferguson, May 7, 2022 Phoenix, Arizona, USA Michael Chandler during UFC 274 at Footprint Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports, 07.05.2022 19:35:20, 18361640, Michael Chandler, MMA PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY Copyright: xMarkxJ.xRebilasx 18361640
Given that Michael Chandler has lost more fights in the UFC than he has won, people might wonder why Dana White keeps giving him big fights. Well, the former Bellator champion made a bold claim about how the UFC CEO perceived him almost before his UFC 274 fight. Here’s what he had to say.
Michael Chandler once claimed that he’s Dana White’s favorite fighter
Despite the topsy-turvy run in the UFC, Michael Chandler is a decorated MMA world champion who won the Bellator 155lbs crown three times. After losing his sole UFC title fight at UFC 262, UFC’s matchmaking team paired him up against former champion Tony Ferguson for UFC 274. But a few days prior, during the media day, he issued a response to ‘El Cucuy’s ‘Dana White’ privilege claim. Why does he get featured so prominently? It’s because Chandler claims to be the CEO’s favorite fighter.
“I’m sorry Tony but that Dana White privilege line might be the funniest thing that has ever been said,” said Michael Chandler. “He’s right, I’m his boss’ favorite fighter, I’m Dana’s favorite fighter, Dana White privilege is not on the line here, I’ve already got it.” Well, when the cage doors get shut this weekend, we’ll surely find out if what ‘Iron’ Mike has said is true because it will be his first time against someone outside of the top 10 in his entire UFC career.
Despite the sentiment that a fight against Paddy Pimblett is a significant step towards a downward trajectory for Michael Chandler, he wants to leave no questions unanswered this weekend. But do you think he has what it takes to beat a much younger rival? Drop your comments below.
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