Tag: Michael Chandler

Gaethje Says Chandler Win Better Secure Title Shot “Or We Riot”

UFC lightweight contender Justin Gaethje has promised to “riot” if he’s not given a title shot with a victory over Michael Chandler at UFC 268 this weekend.

Gaethje hasn’t been in action since UFC 254 last October. Having won the interim belt with …

Justin Gaethje, Dana White

UFC lightweight contender Justin Gaethje has promised to “riot” if he’s not given a title shot with a victory over Michael Chandler at UFC 268 this weekend.

Gaethje hasn’t been in action since UFC 254 last October. Having won the interim belt with a victory over Tony Ferguson five months prior, “The Highlight” looked to successfully unify the belts against the great Khabib Nurmagomedov in Abu Dhabi. Despite a strong opening round, Gaethje was put to sleep by Khabib by way of a triangle choke in the second frame.

Now over a year later, Gaethje is set to square off with #5-ranked Chandler, who has debuted in the promotion and fought for the title in the period since the 32-year-old last made the walk to the Octagon. In a blockbuster main card opener, the pair will both be looking to secure title shots inside Madison Square Garden.

Gaethje Won’t Be Snubbed For Another Title Fight

Gaethje hasn’t shied away from making his feelings known on the UFC’s decision not to include him in the vacant title fight following Khabib’s retirement. While Dustin Poirier pursued a money trilogy clash with Conor McGregor, promotional veteran Charles Oliveira faced Chandler for 155-pound gold at UFC 262 in May. The decision came despite the fact Gaethje had held the interim belt prior to his loss to “The Eagle.”

With his frustration still clear, Gaethje insists a victory over “Iron” this Saturday will secure him another championship opportunity. During an interview with ESPN MMA’s Marc Raimondi, “The Highlight” revealed what will happen if he’s not given a date with the champ.

“Absolutely it does (get me a title shot). If not, we riot… If I win Saturday and I don’t get a shot, I riot. Like, there’s no way I can let that happen and go away quiet… I know a lot of people just call me a little bitch for whining but I don’t know. I guess I just sit back, let my manager do what he’s supposed to do and make the right thing happen. It kind of threw things into the loop when Khabib retired. I waited for someone to fight, there was no fights available up until this point, and this is the perfect fight to get me right in that picture.”

It appears that should Gaethje be victorious on November 6, the other man in the title conversation will be Islam Makhachev. The Dagestani, who’s a close friend and teammate of Gaethje’s former foe Khabib, moved further into the lightweight top five with a dominant submission victory over Dan Hooker at UFC 267 last weekend. Despite the 30-year-old’s win streak and latest triumph, Gaethje doesn’t believe a win against “The Hangman” is enough to see Makhachev fight for gold.

“He’s lost four out of his last five I believe, Hooker. It was a late replacement fight. It’s not like he trained for that fight. He (Makhachev) still has not fought a top-calibre fighter in the UFC. That’s my mindset.”

Do you think a victory over Michael Chandler at UFC 268 will secure Justin Gaethje a title shot?

Continue Reading Gaethje Says Chandler Win Better Secure Title Shot “Or We Riot” at MMA News.

Dustin Poirier Predicts Justin Gaethje Vs. Michael Chandler Outcome

During the UFC’s Hall of Fame ceremony, Dustin Poirier gave his prediction for a big lightweight bout.

Poirier showed up dressed to impress for the event. The lightweight contender fielded questions from the media including what he thinks will happ…

Dustin Poirier

During the UFC’s Hall of Fame ceremony, Dustin Poirier gave his prediction for a big lightweight bout.

Poirier showed up dressed to impress for the event. The lightweight contender fielded questions from the media including what he thinks will happen when Justin Gaethje meets Michael Chandler at UFC 268.

The Louisianan is familiar with the human meat grinder that is Gaethje. They clashed in what many outlets dubbed “fight of the year” back in 2018. The bout was a hellacious back-and-forth that saw both athletes pushed to their limits and ended with Poirier’s hand raised. Poirier is excited about the upcoming fight and likes his old foe to get the victory in November.

“Man, it’s gonna be a fun fight,” Poirier told reporters. It might be talk. Chandler’s mindset, talking about caution to the wind, and who steps back first, and the tough guy stuff is—Justin’s a guy who you don’t have a choice. He’s bringing it. But I think Justin wins that fight.”

“The Diamond” will surely watch the matchup with a vested interest. He currently sits at the top of the heap in the UFC lightweight division and will go for gold again in December when he faces off with Charles Oliveira.

After a successful career in Bellator, Chandler stormed into the UFC with a first-round knockout of Dan Hooker. The win led to Chandler fighting for the UFC belt, where he fell to Charles Oliveira.

Gaethje has been missing from action since a failed title bid last October. The loss to then-champion, Khabib Nurmagomedov, snapped a four-fight winning streak for “The Highlight.”

And while he hasn’t been in the Octagon in nearly a year, Gaethje has been active on social media. He recently took to Twitter to declare that he believes Poirier will beat Oliveira and he will beat Chandler. Then, Gaethje believes he’ll rematch Poirier in a replay of “the best fight that happened on Earth in 2018.”

Who do you think wins when Michael Chandler meets Justin Gaethje at UFC 268?

Continue Reading Dustin Poirier Predicts Justin Gaethje Vs. Michael Chandler Outcome at MMA News.

Chandler: I Don’t Need To Get Oliveira Loss Back

UFC lightweight contender Michael Chandler has suggested he has no burning desire to exact revenge on current champion Charles Oliveira.

After less than a year in the UFC and just one Octagon outing, Chandler found himself fighting for the 155-poun…

UFC 262: Chandler vs. Oliveira, Michael Chandler

UFC lightweight contender Michael Chandler has suggested he has no burning desire to exact revenge on current champion Charles Oliveira.

After less than a year in the UFC and just one Octagon outing, Chandler found himself fighting for the 155-pound title in just his second appearance. After serving as backup for the UFC 254 main event between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Justin Gaethje last October, the former three-time Bellator champ made his much-awaited debut on Fight Island in January this year.

In what most thought would be a difficult first test, Chandler breezed past top-10 contender Dan Hooker with a first-round TKO at UFC 257. After Khabib retired and vacated the gold, and Dustin Poirier favored a third fight with McGregor over the title, “Iron” found himself battling promotional veteran Charles Oliveira for the belt.

Despite coming inches away from championship glory in the opening round, Chandler saw his title hopes slip away in the second. After a mighty comeback, “Do Bronx” secured a TKO and left Houston’s Toyota Center as the new lightweight king.

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Chandler Has No Desire For Revenge

Having suffered defeat after coming so close to title glory, Chandler certainly would’ve been forgiven for neglecting media appearances and taking some time to himself. Instead, the #4-ranked 155-pound star broke his loss down on a podcast just days later, and continues to maintain a positive attitude towards his one and only setback in the promotion.

In line with that, Chandler recently claimed he doesn’t feel the need to get the Oliveira fight back and right his UFC 262 wrong. During an interview with MMA Fighting, the 35-year-old said that whilst he’s happy to face “Do Bronx” again for the title, he won’t actively pursue a rematch unless gold is involved.

“Honestly, for me, I never want to get one back, you know. To me, as a man, I look at the sport, whether it’s this sport or any other sport, that it’s just competition and the names and the faces don’t really matter. It’s a guy with two arms and two legs, and he was gonna compete against me that night and he got the better of me, Charles Oliveira did, or there’s been 20 something other times in my career that I’ve got the better of other guys. It’s never, for me, been about getting anything back. I’ve lost numerous times in my career, none of those I need to get back or want to get back.

“Obviously, when I beat Justin Gaethje and Charles Oliveira fights Poirier, if he wins, of course there’s an extra added incentive, not to just go and fight for the UFC title again, win the UFC title, but to beat the guy who took it from me the first time, or took that opportunity from me… that would definitely be some icing on that cake. But it’s never been about the opponent for me. It’s always been about myself.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/CVvBj5MNOe4/

Whether against Oliveira or Poirier, who are set to square off for the lightweight title at UFC 269 next month, Chandler could well be fighting for UFC gold again in 2022 if he’s victorious this weekend. Continuing his trend of only competing against the best in the promotion, “Iron” will open the UFC 268 main card on Saturday against former interim champ Justin Gaethje.

Who do you think will have their hand raised at UFC 268, Michael Chandler or Justin Gaethje?

Continue Reading Chandler: I Don’t Need To Get Oliveira Loss Back at MMA News.

Gaethje: Chandler’s Title Shot After Beating Hooker “Sh*t On The Sport”

UFC lightweight contender Justin Gaethje has continued to slam the UFC for giving Michael Chandler a shot at the vacant title at UFC 262 in May.

Gaethje has had clear disdain towards the promotion for snubbing him when it came to creating the first…

Justin Gaethje, Charles Oliveira & Michael Chandler

UFC lightweight contender Justin Gaethje has continued to slam the UFC for giving Michael Chandler a shot at the vacant title at UFC 262 in May.

Gaethje has had clear disdain towards the promotion for snubbing him when it came to creating the first championship fight following Khabib Nurmagomedov’s retirement. Despite being interim champ in 2020 and being the last man to challenge “The Eagle,” not only did “The Highlight” find himself out in the cold when it came to the title picture, but he was also left without an opponent for over a year.

Now nearly 13 months on from his defeat to Khabib at UFC 254, Gaethje is set to return to action. In the main card opener of an absolutely stacked UFC 268 pay-per-view this weekend, the 32-year-old will face one of the men chosen to fight for gold earlier this year, former three-time Bellator champ Chandler.

Gaethje Questions Chandler’s Pre-UFC 262 Title Credentials

When Khabib vacated the belt, many expected Gaethje and Dustin Poirier to run it back for the title. After “The Diamond” chose to pursue a lucrative trilogy clash with Conor McGregor and “The Highlight” found himself out of the discussion, Chandler fought for UFC gold in just his second fight in the promotion.

After making the transition to MMA’s leading promotion in 2020, “Iron” made his highly-anticipated debut at UFC 257 in January this year. In the opening round, Chandler made a statement to the division with a TKO finish against the always-durable and tough Dan Hooker.

Despite the impressive debut performance, Gaethje remains baffled that it secured a title shot for Chandler. Speaking to ESPN MMA’s Marc Raimondi ahead of UFC 268, the Arizona native claimed he deserved to be fighting for the belt in Houston.

“With Khabib retiring, it kind of messed things up a little bit. #1 fought #5, #3 fought #4 for the belt, and if you were #2, you know, you were left out in the cold, and it happens that Justin Gaethje was #2. If I was one, four, three, five, then I probably wouldn’t be as upset. Naturally, I wanted the shot. I feel like I deserved the shot.”

Gaethje went on to suggest the decision to have Chandler enter the cage with gold on the line after one win over Hooker “shit on the sport.” Despite claiming he doesn’t have a personal beef with his upcoming opponent, “The Highlight” did admit some of his ill-feeling towards the #4-ranked contender may have derived from his UFC 262 opportunity.

“I think some of the animosity came from him getting a title shot off of beating Dan Hooker. That, in my mind, shit on the sport and shit on what we’re doing here. I was upset about that. Not necessarily with him, more so with the UFC and how the process unfolded.

“I didn’t think a win over Dan Hooker was enough to get him a title shot, no way. Dan is a great fighter, but he’s had a rough streak, and he had a rough streak going into that fight. They wanted someone to fight for a title that didn’t lose to Khabib, I understand that. It’s a multi-billion dollar company, they make their choices and we’ve gotta ride with it. I can criticize from the outside but I don’t know what was going on in the meeting room.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/CVvBj5MNOe4/

After waiting for other rivalries and fights to play out, Gaethje will finally have the opportunity to return to the title picture this Saturday. But in his way will be another former title challenger looking to rebound and stake his claim for a second championship opportunity.

Who do you think will leave Madison Square Garden with another W on their record, Justin Gaethje or Michael Chandler?

Continue Reading Gaethje: Chandler’s Title Shot After Beating Hooker “Sh*t On The Sport” at MMA News.

Chandler: I’ll Be “Swinging For The Fences” For Early KO Against Gaethje

UFC lightweight Michael Chandler certainly isn’t afraid to go toe-to-toe with Justin Gaethje on the feet. He says he’ll be “swinging for the fences” for a knockout finish at UFC 268.

Chandler, a former three-time 155-pound Bellator champion, has es…

Michael Chandler, Justin Gaethje

UFC lightweight Michael Chandler certainly isn’t afraid to go toe-to-toe with Justin Gaethje on the feet. He says he’ll be “swinging for the fences” for a knockout finish at UFC 268.

Chandler, a former three-time 155-pound Bellator champion, has established himself as one of the UFC’s top lightweights after just two fights in the promotion, and even came close to having gold wrapped around his waist. After “Iron” signed with the Dana White-led organization last year, the anticipation for his arrival was high. His debut certainly didn’t disappoint.

In one of the most impressive and emphatic opening Octagon outings, Chandler finished the incredibly tough and durable Dan Hooker in the opening round of the UFC 257 co-main event. Not only did the victory mark his arrival onto MMA’s biggest stage, but it would later be enough to see him fight for the title.

In a contest for lightweight belt, which was vacated by the great Khabib Nurmagomedov, Chandler faced UFC veteran Charles Oliveira in the UFC 262 main event in May. Despite a destructive opening round from the 35-year-old, which almost saw him finish “Do Bronx,” the Brazilian mounted a memorable comeback to secure a second-round TKO.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CPJEEGggGGq/

Chandler Is On The Hunt For A Second Title Shot

After falling short of the lightweight mountaintop, Chandler will be looking to work his way back to title contention, something he’ll have the chance to do inside Madison Square Garden next weekend. In a blockbuster showdown, he’ll face fellow former title challenger Justin Gaethje, who hasn’t fought since his unification bout defeat to Khabib last October.

On a stacked pay-per-view card, Chandler’s third UFC outing is certainly one of the most anticipated matchups set for next Saturday. During an interview with ESPN MMA’s Brett Okamoto, Chandler did nothing to downplay the excitement for the contest. With both coming off championship defeats, “Iron” expects a fiery affair against who he described as the “scariest” and “craziest” opponent he’s ever been matched up with.

“(We’re) anticipating the toughest Justin Gaethje that we’ve ever seen. He’s coming off a loss, I’m coming off a loss; essentially shattering both of our dreams of becoming a UFC champion. I expect him to come out with a fire, I’m gonna come out with a fire, and it’s gonna be a good night at Madison Square Garden… when we’ve both stepped in that Octagon, win, lose, or draw, neither of us have ever been in a boring fight. It’s gonna be exciting, no matter what.”

Despite both boasting elite wrestling credentials, many are expecting, and perhaps hoping, that Chandler and Gaethje engage in a stand-up battle at UFC 268. Whilst the former Bellator champion is hoping to bring all aspects of his skillset into the fight, he assured fans that he’ll be giving his all for an early knockout on November 6.

“I’ve always tried to bring a multi-faceted approach to my fights. I want guys to be cognisant and somewhat timid of my power, because whenever they feel my power, they realize what’s coming at them. I wanna push the pace, I wanna touch him in the legs, in the body, in the head, shoot for takedowns, fake takedowns; do it all. That’s how I’ve trained my entire career because when you’ve got power like I possess, a lot of guys tend to evade… I’m just looking to be a complete martial artist on November 6. But I’m gonna be swinging for the fences looking for the knockout early and often.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/CUfYKTGoDiA/

Who do you think will have their hand raised at UFC 268, Michael Chandler or Justin Gaethje?

Continue Reading Chandler: I’ll Be “Swinging For The Fences” For Early KO Against Gaethje at MMA News.

Gaethje Reveals The One Way His Fight With Chandler Could “Suck”

The bout between Michael Chandler and Justin Gaethje seems to have action written all over it, but there is one way the flight could suck.

The main card of UFC 268 will be kicked off with the return of Gaethje, Who has not fought since his 2020 tit…

Justin Gaethje Michael Chandler

The bout between Michael Chandler and Justin Gaethje seems to have action written all over it, but there is one way the flight could suck.

The main card of UFC 268 will be kicked off with the return of Gaethje, Who has not fought since his 2020 title loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov. He is returning against Chandler, who is fresh off his own title fight loss, when Charles Oliveira TKOd him to win the vacant title.

Aside from the fact that this is potentially a number one contender’s fight, this about has action written all over it, with both men being known to throw caution to the wind and brawl. However, Justin Gaethje explained to media at the UFC 268 pre-fight press conference, but there is a specific way where this fight does not end up being fan friendly.

“These guys saw Khabib take me down. A lot of guys have tried to take me down in my career. He was the one that was successful, so maybe they see a path to victory there. I do think that (Chandler) is a smart guy, and I think that he thinks that he would be smart to try to turn this into a wrestling match for a round or two. So yeah, if he was successful there, which he will not be, then it could suck, but not going to happen,” Gaethje said.

It certainly does not seem to be out of the realm of possibility, that Michael Chandler will at least try to wrestle and control Justin Gaethje, provided he could even do so. On the off chance that this is what happens, that would be extremely disappointing for the fans who were expecting a bloodbath, but given the stakes it would make perfect sense for Chandler.

You can check out Justin Gaethje’s entire pre-fight press conference media appearance below:

Continue Reading Gaethje Reveals The One Way His Fight With Chandler Could “Suck” at MMA News.