Former UFC referee ‘Big’ John McCarthy thinks Michael Chandler has finally hit Tony Ferguson status.
After sitting on the sidelines for two years waiting for a fight that never came to fruition, Chandler returned to the Octagon at UFC 309 for a rematch with former lightweight world champion Charles Oliveira. Despite a valiant effort and an electrifying fifth round, Chandler came up short on the scorecards.
With the loss, Chandler has lost four of his last five under the UFC banner with his only win during that run coming against Ferguson at UFC 274.
Looking back on the ex-Bellator titleholder’s performance in MSG, McCarthy suggested that Chandler’s career is on a downward trajectory, similar to that of ‘El Cucuy’ who infamously lost eight straight before being shown the door earlier this year.
“Michael Chandler has hit Tony Ferguson status — just being honest … absolutely,” McCarthy said in a recent episode of his WEIGHING IN podcast with Josh Thomson. “Who’s he going to beat? He looked slow. You cannot look slow in the lightweight division. You’re going to die, and he got outwrestled by a jiu-jitsu guy” (h/t Sportskeeda).
Where does Michael Chandler go from here?
Where Chandler goes from here is anyone’s guess.
Unfortunately, ‘Iron’ wasted a large chunk of his time waiting for a fight with Conor McGregor that, in all honestly, was never going to happen.
Of course, that didn’t stop Chandler from calling out the Irishman following his latest loss, but we’ve got a feeling the UFC won’t be itching to book McGregor anytime soon after he was found liable for the 2018 rape of a woman inside a Dublin hotel.
With a losing record and rematches against Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje unlikely, McCarthy doesn’t quite know where Chandler fits in one of the UFC’s most talent-rich divisions.
“Dustin [Poirier] doesn’t want to fight him again because of the same things that he f*cking ended up doing in the Oliveira fight,” McCarthy said. “Now I always sit there and say, ‘If you’re not cheating, you’re not trying,’ but don’t sit there and f*cking tell me that he didn’t hit him to the back of the head.
“I don’t give a f*ck if your fist is going on the other side of his ear when your forearm is hitting him to the back of the head, it’s the f*cking back of the head. … I’m not saying he’s got seven losses in a row (like Ferguson) — I’m saying he’s on the same path as Tony Ferguson.”
