Tag: Bellator 221

Michael Chandler has released a statement following his Bellator 221 defeat.

Chandler was defeated this past weekend (Sat. May 11, 2019) by Patricio Freire in the main event of the night. After falling via TKO in the opening minute, Chandler lost his 155-pound title. It was only the second time in his career that Chandler was finished via strikes, the first coming against Will Brooks in 2014.

Now, nearly a week removed from the defeat, Chandler has taken to Instagram to issue a lengthy statement on the loss. Check out what he had to say below:

“This sport has never been about the wins and the losses for me. I realize that is a very easy thing to say after you have lost a fight. I refuse to say it doesn’t sting. I refuse to say I haven’t shed a tear or two over it. I’m not ashamed to say it hurts. But this sport is as merciless and unforgiving as it is beautiful and exhilarating.

“We can’t enjoy the spoils of the good without also accepting the pains of the bad. When I woke up Sunday morning I woke up a winner for more reasons than I can count. In the last few days I’ve spent quality time with my family and in a weird way this loss and the embarrassment that accompanies it has made me love them and myself deeper.

“It has made me love the fans deeper. It has made me love this sport deeper. Getting knocked down and embarrassed for the whole world to see is never easy. The naysayers have been and will continue to come out of the woodwork. The constant struggle to block out the negativity and focus only on the good has been a mountainous task, but a battle I am winning.

“I relish in the notion that this journey is far from over and I am certain that the best is yet to come. Picture me sitting somewhere out there right now…with a confident smirk on my face because I secretly love my back against the wall. I secretly love being the hunter and not the hunted.

“I thrive in an environment where I have nothing to lose. You thought you’ve seen hard work before? You haven’t seen anything yet. I’m plotting… See you at the top!”

The post Michael Chandler Releases Statement After Bellator 221 Defeat appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

ROSEMONT, Ill. – Former Bellator lightweight champion Michael Chandler is not happy about his supposedly early stoppage loss to Patricio Pitbull Freire at Bellator 221.

Despite being knocked out in the first round of their main event fight last night at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Ill., Chandler was in good spirits after the loss. When he was asked whether or not he felt the stoppage was early, Chandler responded candidly.

“I’m the fighter,” Chandler told LowkickMMA after the loss. “The promoters will promote. I think you’re going to see an overwhelming majority of people that are going to want to see a rematch. I think Bellator’s probably going to want to see a rematch. Of course I want the rematch.

“Whether you’re in the camp that thinks it was an early stoppage or not, I’m not going to sit up here and rant and rave about all of that. You could’ve had 10,000 different refs in there and had it go 10,000 different ways or on the other side. … Patricio ‘Pitbull’ will step back in the cage with me, it’s just a matter of when.”

Handled With Class

With the win, Freire becomes Bellator MMA’s second double champ, joining Ryan Bader as the only other fighter in promotion history to hold two titles simultaneously.

The lead-up to Bellator 221’s main event was contentious, to say the least. It was personal for Patricio because Chandler had already knocked out his older brother Patricky. The Bellator officials even had to book separate hotels for the fighters to stay at all week long to ensure that the main event did not take place sooner than Saturday night.

Still, after the fight, Chandler said Patricio handled the post-fight celebration respectfully enough.

“This is one of those moments – whether I’ve said what I’ve said about him or not, or he’s said what he’s said about me, the goodness of the human spirit was also shown in that moment,” Chandler said. “He came over, ticked off, ready to spit, cuss, point, ready to really kind of get after it.

“Then all of a sudden you saw it hit him, and he came in like a sportsman. … He came in hot like he was about to say something like, ‘I told you so,’ in-your-face type of thing. But the human spirit took over right there, and he came up and said congrats, which is much easier to do when you win.”

Not Out

For his part, Chandler is handling the loss surprisingly well. The former two time Bellator lightweight champion believes this is just another opportunity for him to make history by becoming the first three-time champ in promotion history.

But Chandler wanted to make it clear that yes, he got clipped by Pitbull, but in no way was he ever out of the fight.

“Did I get hit? Yeah. Was I out? Absolutely not”

The post Michael Chandler: I Will Rematch Freire, ‘Just A Matter Of When’ appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.