It may seem like Michael Chandler wasted precious years of his MMA career waiting for a match with Conor McGregor that hasn’t happened yet, but the former Bellator MMA champion has a different perspective on that period apart. have.
“I needed all this time off. I really needed it,” Chandler told the New York Post. “We had six training camps in 26 months, top three, top five, world title fight, match of the night, match of the year, every match was do or die. I love it. I’m very blessed to be able to play the sport of mixed martial arts professionally and get paid to support my family, but it took a toll on me.”
Chandler hasn’t fought since November 2022, when he suffered a third-round submission loss to Dustin Poirier at UFC 281. After that, Chandler was set to coach McGregor’s opponent in “The Ultimate Fighter 31,” and it seems like he’s set himself up for a big payday fight after the show. However, the fight was postponed multiple times and Chandler ultimately decided to move on after canceling his reservation for UFC 303 due to a toe injury the week of the fight.
Instead, Chandler will face Charles Oliveira in the co-main event of UFC 309 on November 16th at Madison Square Garden in New York. The former University of Missouri wrestler is eager to take on the ‘de Bronx’ again after suffering a second-round TKO loss to the Brazilian in a 155-pound title bout at UFC 262. Chandler faced Oliveira about four months after his first fight. – Round stoppage of Dan Hooker in his Octagon debut.
“We had very little time to really process and build and grow,” Chandler said. “I’m 38 years old. I was 34 at the time and I’m still growing. We’re all still growing as people, but I wasn’t where I was supposed to be. I felt very confident. I went in there. I had a great training camp, but I went into the fight trying to finish off Charles Oliveira in the first second of the first round — I beat him 10-8 in the first round. However, he was unable to maintain that pace.
“I made a bad decision and put myself in a bad situation. I didn’t fight to the best of my ability and since then I have struggled mainly mentally and spiritually. I fixed them all.”
UFC 309: Jones vs. Miocic. Saturday at 10 a.m. ET on ESPN+. Order now!
Going back to his Bellator days, Chandler is 0-3 at Madison Square Garden, a fact he is keenly aware of. But he’s also grateful for the chance to compete once again at this famous venue.
“We are very grateful that you would consider using the Madison Square Garden card,” Chandler said. “They don’t just put someone on the card at Madison Square Garden. The UFC puts guys on the fight card who are going to put on a great show.”
Chandler believes he has everything in place to not only break MSG’s curse, but also to avenge his last loss to Oliveira.
“It’s going to be a great performance, and I’m going to go out there and do it all the way, surgically and methodically dismantling this guy until I find the exit sign,” Chandler said.
“This version of my Chandler 2.0 is very different from the Chandler 1.0 that fought at UFC 262 in Houston. And I’m excited to go out there and not only show it to him, but show it to the whole world. I am.”
