‘Iron’ Michael Chandler has faced some of the hardest hitters in the history of mixed martial arts.
Though he’s only fought inside the Octagon five times, Chandler has already faced a murderer’s row of lightweight talent, including Charles Oliveira, Justin Gaethje, and Tony Ferguson, but only one can claim to be the hardest hitter the former Bellator MMA champion has faced in his storied career.
“Dustin Poirier hits fricking hard, man,” Chandler said when talkSPORT.com asked him who is the biggest puncher he’s ever fought. “It’s widely documented, that and Dustin need to squash our beef eventually, but we haven’t quite yet. Dustin hits hard.”
Chandler and Poirier delivered an instant classic at UFC 281 last year that saw ‘The Diamond’ walk away with a third-round submission victory via a rear-naked choke.
Chandler also acknowledged that current BMF titleholder Justin Gaethje is an undeniably hard hitter, but it’s his frenetic pace that makes ‘The Highlight’ such a formidable foe inside the Octagon.
“Gaethje is more just frenetic in there, but he does hit hard as well,” Chandler said. I train with Kamaru Usman. I train with Gilbert Burns. Obviously, those guys are welterweights, but those are two of my favorite fighters and friends of mine. So, those are the four fighters I probably say [hit hardest].”
Michael Chandler Names his Favorite Fighter of All Time
While Dustin Poirier takes the cake for hardest hitter, Michael Chandler put his friend, teammate, and one-time UFC title challenger Gilbert Burns at the top of his all-time list of favorite fighters.
“Gilbert Burns is probably my favorite fighter ever, just because of the man he is and the guy he is inside and outside of the Octagon,” Chandler added.
Chandler has been sitting on the sidelines for the last year, but not due to an injury or complacency. Instead, the high-octane 155’er has been eagerly awaiting the opportunity to welcome Irish megastar Conor McGregor back to the Octagon. Originally, the pair were scheduled to scrap at UFC 296 this month, but after the former two-division titleholder failed to rejoin the USADA testing pool in a timely fashion, the bout was pushed back to a to-be-determined date in 2024.
Rumors heavily point toward their scrap going down at UFC 300 in April. However, McGregor’s coach, John Kavanagh, has claimed that the UFC wants to push the “greatest comeback in combat sports history” back to the Summer of 2024, presumably for International Fight Week.
When and where McGregor returns is still a mystery at this point, but UFC CEO Dana White has given fans a 100% guarantee that the Irishman will be fighting next year.