Gamrot vs. Chandler, anyone?
Mateusz Gamrot is ready to go to war against Michael Chandler.
Heading into his fight against Dustin Poirier at UFC 281 this past Saturday, Chandler hoped a win could get him a potential championship opportunity against UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev. However, ‘Iron’ was submitted by the ‘Diamond’ in their ‘Fight of the Night’ outing, so his path to gold got harder.
Though interested in welcoming former two-division champion Conor McGregor to the Octagon again for his next appearance, Chandler has other options to consider, and Gamrot wants to be one of them. On his Instagram, the ‘Gamer’ threw his name out to Chandler for a potential fight next year.
“Hey [Michael Chandler] if you still wanna be counted as a title contender, let’s make a war at spring and see who’s the better wrestler,” wrote Gamrot. “Winner is going up! Enjoy your well deserved rest for now.”
This is the second time Gamrot has challenged Chandler in recent months. The first came after his second-round TKO win over Carlos Diego Ferreira at UFC Vegas 45, where he told Michael Bisping that the former Bellator star should stop chasing a fight with ‘businessman’ McGregor.
“Everybody wants a fight with Conor McGregor,” said Gamrot in his post-fight interview. “But who is Conor? Conor was five years ago and now he’s a businessman, not a real fighter. Hey, Michael Chandler, you want to say you want a fight with Conor? You have a record in the Octagon [of] 1-2. Come on with me. You probably want to wrestle, so let’s go. Fight with me. I wish you all the best, quick recovery and fight next year with me. Let’s go!”
Like Chandler, the former KSW lightweight champion also suffered a loss in his most recent appearance. Gamrot dropped a unanimous decision to Beneil Dariush at UFC 280 in October. Prior to that, he was on a four-fight win streak that included the likes of Jeremy Stephens and Arman Tsarukyan.
Given their respective positions in the official UFC rankings — Chandler is No. 5 and Gamrot is No. 8 — a fight between these fighters makes sense.