UFC lightweight title challenge Michael Chandler says he has no fear when it comes to Charles Oliveira’s ground game.
After just one win in the UFC, albeit an impressive one, former Bellator champ Michael Chandler has scored a UFC lightweight title fight. At UFC 262 on May 15 he’s scheduled to meet Charles Oliveira for the belt that was recently vacated by Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Chandler’s promotional debut was a stunning KO of Dan Hooker. The American has won almost half of his 22 victories by strikes. And he thinks he’ll add another TKO/KO to his record after he faces Oliveira.
He recently told TMZ that he expects to keep the fight standing versus Do Bronx. That sounds like good strategy since the Brazilian is one of the sport’s most dangerous submission artists.
Oliveira, who has won his last eight fights, has 30 wins on his record and 19 of those are by submission. In the UFC he’s tapped Kevin Lee, Jim Miller and Will Brooks to name a few.
Chandler told TMZ he’s not worried about getting subbed by Oliveira.
“Charles Oliveira poses a lot of threats on the ground, but I’ve never even come close to getting submitted,” he said (ht MMA Mania). “I’ve got kind of a sixth sense when it comes to the ground game to not be submitted. The best way I would like to go out there and finish him is just to hit him as hard as I can numerous times on the feet. Keep the fight standing, put him in panic mode, knock him out in the first round. If not the first round, dig a little deeper and go into the second, go into the third. He’s a guy who starts to slow down, especially once you start putting the pressure on him. I’m very good at keeping my foot on the gas for 25 minutes, I’ve done it a dozen times now. So man, go out there and knock him out in the first or second round, get my hand raised in front of a huge Houston crowd on May 15th, collect my paycheck, kiss my wife, and figure out what’s next.”
Chandler has never been submitted in his career. His only losses are close split decisions to Eddie Alvarez and Will Brooks and TKOs to Brooks, Patricio Freire and Brent Primus (ankle injury).
He came over to the UFC off of back-to-back of KO wins against Sidney Outlaw and former UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson. Those wins came after his loss to Freire, which cost him his Bellator lightweight title.