Michael Chandler is giving us a glimpse into the rarely seen aftermaths of a war like the one he engaged in with Justin Gaethje at UFC 268, and it’s not for the faint of heart.
There’s no doubt in anyone’s mind that Justin Gaethje vs. Michael Chandler at UFC 268 was a Fight of the Year candidate. Both men gave it their all in a back and forth war that somehow managed to go the distance despite the violence being inflicted in the cage. Justin Gaethje walked away with the decision win, and Michael Chandler walked away with a pretty messed up face.
And a $50,000 Fight of the Night bonus too, so that’s nice.
Still, that face wasn’t going to fix itself, so immediately after the fight both Gaethje and Chandler were rushed to the hospital where doctors carefully stitched all the savaged meat in Chandler’s head back together. And because Michael Chandler is a savage who revels in this kind of thing, he shared footage from the sewing session with TMZ Sports.
According to the celeb gossip site, “Iron Mike” received 22 stitches once everything was all said and done — 4 stitches for his lip, 12 above his right eye, and 6 stitches above his left eye — the result of eating 83 strikes to the head from Gaethje. Chandler delivered 64 of his own, but somehow Gaethje left the cage looking pretty much the same. We doubt he ended up wearing full facial icepacks for days after the bout like Chandler did, either.
At least he’s getting paid? According to in-the-know MMA reporter Ariel Helwani, Chandler is the anonymous fighter making $750,000 to fight that Dana White referenced on a recent podcast when defending UFC fighter pay. Whether you think that’s enough given the corn thresher he was just thrown through at UFC 268 … well, we’ll leave that determination up to you.