Tag: Michael Chandler

UFC 262 ‘Embedded,’ No. 1: Michael Chandler on cusp of ‘a dream being realized’

Go behind the scenes with the stars of UFC 262 ahead of Saturday’s pay-per-view.

The UFC is back on pay-per-view this Saturday with UFC 262, and the promotion is getting fans ready with its popular “Embedded” series.

UFC 262 takes place at Toyota Center in Houston. The main card streams on following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on ESPN+.

In the main event, [autotag]Charles Oliveira[/autotag] (30-8 MMA, 18-8 UFC) meets [autotag]Michael Chandler[/autotag] (22-5 MMA, 1-0 UFC) for the vacant lightweight title. In the co-headliner, 155-pound contenders clash when [autotag]Tony Ferguson[/autotag] (25-5 MMA, 15-3 UFC) takes on the streaking [autotag]Beneil Dariush[/autotag] (20-4-1 MMA, 14-4-1 UFC).

The first episode of “Embedded” follows the big stars who will compete at UFC 262. Here’s the UFC’s description from YouTube:

Michael Chandler reflects on his year in the UFC and picks up some new art. Beneil Dariush takes in fights and Southern food before a Mother’s Day ride. Headliner Charles Oliveira lands in Houston, and Tony Ferguson works out after midnight.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQo_1Cms_P0

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Henri Hooft would love to win UFC lightweight title with ‘good guy’ Michael Chandler

Henri Hooft has had many special moments with Michael Chandler, but he would love to cap it off with UFC gold.

DEERFIELD BEACH, Fla. – Henri Hooft has had many special moments with [autotag]Michael Chandler[/autotag], but he would love to cap it off with UFC gold.

After just one fight in the UFC, former three-time Bellator lightweight champion Chandler (22-5 MMA, 1-0 UFC) will face Charles Oliveira (30-8 MMA, 18-8 UFC) for the vacant 155-pound title in the UFC 262 main event May 15 at Toyota Center in Houston.

Chandler made waves in his octagon debut by making quick work of Dan Hooker at UFC 257 in January, and even his head coach Hooft admits their road to gold was a little quicker than he anticipated.

“Nobody was expecting that,” Hooft told MMA Junkie. “The first fight was very special. Of course, it’s very special for me because I was in Bellator so long with him. I was with Eddie Alvarez first and we fought Michael, and then later on I trained with Michael. We got the belt back. We lost it once due to injury and we won it back again, and then he went on a great run. I think we went like 10-2 training together, so we had some nice moments. The last fight with Benson Henderson, when he made up his mind, he said, ‘I want to go to the UFC.’ I was like, ‘If you really want to test yourself and the way you’ve been preforming in your past couple of fights, it’s cool. Go there, you have nothing to lose. You’re already a champion anyway so go there, test the water and see what it is.’

“He has an explosive style. Everybody wants to see that. Fans want to see him fight because he goes hard. In the first fight with Dan Hooker, everybody thought in the beginning, ‘Oh, that’s going to be difficult. He’s going to knee him. He’s tall,’ this and that. And I was like, that’s just even better because you get the good opponent for your first fight. Most people were thinking he’s not going to get a win because that guy is really, really tough. And then what he did, that’s Michael Chandler. He goes in there and just lays it out.”

Hooft won his first UFC title with welterweight champion Kamaru Usman in 2019 and he’d like nothing more than to see one of his hardest-working fighters wrap the UFC lightweight title around his waist.

“I’m very happy that we got the shot,” Hooft said. “Of course, because for me I think it’s the fourth or fifth time where we’ll fight for the belt, and after the welterweight belt, I would love to win a lightweight belt with Michael Chandler, especially with Michael Chandler. A really good guy – he’s really good in the gym, a good teammate and he’s a good guy for the company. He’s well-spoken, he’s a real champion, a family man, but he’s got a really tough fight.

“He has all the experience, he fought very tough guys and he beat Dan Hooker, and now we’ve got Charles Oliveira, who’s really respected. I really like his style of fighting – he’s very good everywhere.”

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Michael Chandler explains taking shots at Dustin Poirier, not Conor McGregor, before UFC 262

As far as Michael Chandler is concerned, Conor McGregor “has not said one negative thing” about him leading into UFC 262.

DEERFIELD BEACH, Fla. – [autotag]Michael Chandler[/autotag] sees the winner of [autotag]Dustin Poirier[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag] 3 as the likely No. 1 contender to the lightweight championship he plans to win next month at UFC 262.

Chandler (22-5 MMA, 1-0 UFC) is scheduled to fight Charles Oliveira (30-8 MMA, 18-8 UFC) for the vacant 155-pound title in the main event on May 15 at Toyota Center in Houston. Less than two month later, Poirier and McGregor will clash in a trilogy bout in the UFC 264 headliner on July 10.

If Chandler manages to get his hand raised, he said he won’t be steadfast about his first title defense. However, given the lay of the land, it’s hard to deny Poirier (27-6 MMA, 19-5 UFC) or McGregor (22-5 MMA, 10-3 UFC) would be the guy.

“When I win the title on May 15, I’m not going to be the guy calling shots,” Chandler told MMA Junkie. “I’m going to be the champion and I hold the belt, but I’m not going to be the guy calling shots. You just look at the rankings and you look at the body of work of Dustin Poirier, he’s the obvious No. 1 guy right now. He chose to take the money fight and pass up on the opportunity to fight for the title, so if he does beat Conor, he’s the obvious No. 1 choice. But if Conor beats the No. 1 guy, plus how big of a name he is, plus the star power of himself, plus when Conor’s on and Conor’s chasing the title, there’s not a spectacle more exciting in sports.

“So, he goes out there and runs through Dustin, or even beats Dustin in a dominant fashion, I think that makes him the No. 1 contender. I’ll be holding the belt, and I’ll be there (cageside) in Vegas, excited to see who I’m going to fight probably later on this year or the first of next year.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQo_1Cms_P0

Chandler said he’s not sure who will win the rubber match. However, it appears there’s more tension with “The Diamond.” Poirier said in the immediate aftermath of beating McGregor in their rematch last January that he was not interested in a bout with Chandler, and since there have been building pot shots between the two sides.

Poirier has accused Chandler of being a UFC “yes man” and said he’s fighting for “fool’s gold” at UFC 262. Chandler has responded in kind, and on Monday posted a video mocking his fellow contender lifted from the “8 Mile” movie (via Instagram):

https://www.instagram.com/p/CN2TJYBDfcb

Chandler hasn’t taken any shots at McGregor, however, and he said that’s for good reason.

“Conor has not said one negative thing about me,” Chandler said. “Conor hasn’t really said my name at all. Not that that is a good thing or a bad thing. Poirier has. That’s fine. He can have his opinion of me. ‘I haven’t earned it’ or he’d rather sell hot sauce than fight me for the title, or it’s ‘fool’s gold.’ It was more directed at him because he’s been the guy that’s said the most.

“He’s got a big fight ahead of him. He’s got the biggest fight of his life ahead of him. Finishing a trilogy with Conor McGregor is the biggest thing he’s got on his plate. But then again, I should be more worried about Charles Oliveira, I guess.”

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All of this talk is meaningless until Chandler beats Oliveira at UFC 259, he said. He’ll be in the driver’s seat if he claims the title, and that position is Chandler one has been chasing for years.

He spent many years as one of the faces of Bellator, only getting his talent measured up to the UFC’s best from the outside. Now that he’s here, Chandler said it’s important to maximize the platform. To him, that means training hard and putting his best foot forward with whatever time he has on this stage.

“It’s an interesting lightweight division,” Chandler said. “Full of characters, full of fighters, full of world-class athletes, and I’m excited to be a part of it. I’m excited to ruffle a little bit of feathers. I said when I came into this organization I didn’t want to just join the party. I wanted to kick down the door and come in and make myself known. That’s what I’m trying to do, and I’ve left no stone unturned here inside the gym, and that’s the most important thing.”

Patricio Freire hopes fans remember his knockout of Michael Chandler – and what he says it means

With two belts in his possession, every next fight is the biggest one of his career for Patricio Freire.

With two belts in his possession, every next fight is the biggest one of his career for [autotag]Patricio Freire[/autotag].

The Bellator lightweight and featherweight champion returns next month to put his 145-pound title on the line against Emmanuel Sanchez in a rematch that also happens to be a semifinal fight in the promotion’s ongoing featherweight tournament.

Freire (31-4 MMA, 19-4 BMMA) and Sanchez (20-4 MMA, 12-3 BMMA) first fought at Bellator 209 in November 2018 in Israel, where Freire walked away with a unanimous decision win. His next time out, he knocked out [autotag]Michael Chandler[/autotag] in 61 seconds to add the lightweight title to his collection.

And while “Pitbull” has to worry about Sanchez first and foremost at Bellator 255 on April 2, there might never be a time he doesn’t have Chandler somewhere in the back of his mind given their personal history and Chandler’s history with Freire’s brother Patricky.

“My rivalry against Chandler – it was personal,” Freire recently told MMA Junkie. “On the same night he defeated my brother, he said he could beat my entire family. I made him pay for his words by knocking him out inside the cage in one minute.”

After Chandler’s knockout los to Freire in May 2019, he fought twice more for Bellator and delivered first-round knockouts of Sidney Outlaw and former UFC and WEC champ Benson Henderson. Then he left for the UFC as a free agent.

Chandler waited on the sidelines for a bit for his first UFC fight. But at UFC 257 in January, he made a big splash with a bonus-winning first-round TKO of Dan Hooker. The win was big enough to put Chandler into a title shot. At UFC 262, Chandler will fight Charles Oliveira for the lightweight title vacated this past week by longtime champ Khabib Nurmagomedov.

And Freire thinks one thing is evident by Chandler’s quick rise in the UFC: It means he – Freire, not Chandler – is the better fighter.

“Both casual and hardcore MMA fans should understand that what matters is the athlete, not the organization,” Freire said. “Many people are blind and only care about the UFC. That’s the wrong way of thinking. The proof is Michael Chandler, coming from Bellator, having such a devastating victory in his UFC debut against a highly ranked opponent. Chandler is just getting started. Seeing how dangerous he can be in the UFC further proves the quality of Bellator’s fighters – and how good a fighter I am.

“I don’t respect any of the ranking systems. I stopped paying attention. It’s completely political. People sell their opinions. I’d rather not be included. The only way to know if a fighter is better than the other is to have them fight. No one is as dominant as I am at 145 pounds. I even went up to 155 pounds and beat the No. 4-ranked fighter in the UFC. Rankings make no sense.”

One thing the UFC steers clear of is cross-promoted fights. So the chances of seeing Freire at his current peak against Chandler at his current peak likely are slim and none. So perhaps Freire will have to just keep that head-to-head win in his back pocket for a personal claim as the best, despite he and Chandler now fighting in separate promotions.

But when it comes to his next title defense at featherweight against Sanchez, he thinks he’s got the inside track already.

“If there’s one thing I do well, it’s rematches,” Freire said. “I always come back better. I already beat Sanchez. I realize this is a new fight, but I’m looking to win as quickly as possible, with the least amount of damage, so I can be in the final.”

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Spinning Back Clique: Is the world ready for packed arenas at UFC events?

Check out the latest edition of “Spinning Back Clique,” the weekly show that takes a quick spin through the biggest topics in MMA.

Check out the latest edition of “Spinning Back Clique,” MMA Junkie’s weekly show that takes a quick spin through the biggest topics in mixed martial arts.

This week, our panel weighs in on a few upcoming UFC title fights, what can be done about weight cutting in MMA, and what type of message the UFC is sending by announcing fans are returning to future events. Host Simon Head is joined by panelists Brian “Goze” Garcia of MMA Junkie Radio, as well as MMA Junkie’s Farah Hannoun and Danny Segura. Let’s get into it!

  • [autotag]Stipe Miocic[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Francis Ngannou[/autotag] 2: It’s a huge fight, but if you’re [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] – who seems to be waiting in the wings for the winner – what do you want to hear from Bruce Buffer at the end of the fight at UFC 260? “And new,” or “And still”?
  • The UFC’s vacant lightweight title fight will feature [autotag]Charles Oliveira[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Michael Chandler[/autotag] in May. What’s your reaction to that booking, and who do you think will take over Khabib Nurmagomedov’s mantle at 155 pounds?
  • There were scary scenes at the UFC on ESPN 21 weigh-ins, when [autotag]Julija Stoliarenko[/autotag] passed out on the scale. What should be done to prevent a repeat, or worse?
  • And finally, the UFC has confirmed that UFC 261 in Jacksonville and UFC 262 in Houston will both play to maximum-capacity crowds. It’s a big statement from the UFC, with Dana White making good on his promise to be the first sport back to full arenas. But what are your feelings on this? Is being the first sport back a good thing, or would the UFC be better off waiting?

Hope you enjoy this week’s show. Watch Episode 72 of “Spinning Back Clique” above.

Justin Gaethje says he was passed over for UFC 262 fight vs. Michael Chandler

Justin Gaethje thought he was in line to fight Michael Chandler at UFC 262 – until he wasn’t.

[autotag]Justin Gaethje[/autotag] thought he was in line to fight [autotag]Michael Chandler[/autotag] at UFC 262 – until he wasn’t.

Following Thursday’s announcements that Khabib Nurmagomedov had officially relinquished the UFC lightweight title and Chandler vs. Charles Oliveira was booked for the vacant belt on the May 15 card in Houston, Gaethje (22-3 MMA, 5-3 UFC) revealed he was in talks for the fight.

From the way he spelled it out, it seems Gaethje was caught off guard when the promotion opted to shift directions to a matchup with Oliveira (via Twitter):

I woke up yesterday to train for a matchup with Chandler on May 15th expecting a bout agreement any moment. Today that is not the case, I don’t know what I do yet but I like this feeling. It was a good day at sparring practice.

Gaethje, 32, did not specify whether the matchup he was negotiating with Chandler would’ve been for the title.

The No. 3 fighter in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie lightweight rankings hasn’t competed since losing to Nurmagomedov by second-round submission at UFC 254 in October.

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Twitter reacts to Khabib’s official retirement, Charles Oliveira-Michael Chandler UFC title fight

Check out the top Twitter reactions to Khabib Nurmagomedov’s retirement and UFC’s 262 title fight of Charles Oliveira vs. Michael Chandler.

A new chapter in UFC lightweight history began on Thursday when [autotag]Khabib Nurmagomedov[/autotag]’s retirement was officially recognized by Dana White and the lightweight title became vacant.

It took only a matter of moments for a new championship bout to be booked. [autotag]Charles Oliveira[/autotag] (30-8 MMA, 18-8 UFC) will finally get his crack at UFC gold when he meets [autotag]Michael Chandler[/autotag] (22-5 MMA, 1-0 UFC) in a dual for Nurmagomedov’s freshly relinquished strap at UFC 262 on May 15.

The landscape shifting moment naturally got a major rise out of the MMA community. For more, check out the top Twitter reactions to the major news around the UFC’s 155-pound division.

With Khabib retired, Charles Oliveira vs. Michael Chandler set for vacant title at UFC 262

At UFC 262, the vacant lightweight championship will be up for grabs.

[autotag]Khabib Nurmagomedov[/autotag] officially has given up his UFC lightweight championship, but it won’t be vacant for long.

Lightweight contenders [autotag]Michael Chandler[/autotag] and [autotag]Charles Oliveira[/autotag] are set to square off for the belt on May 15 at UFC 262. The event does not currently have a publicly known location or venue.

Two people with knowledge of the matchup confirmed the booking to MMA Junkie on Thursday but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement. ESPN was the first to report the news.

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The longtime face of Bellator, where he was a three-time champ, Chandler (22-5 MMA, 1-0 UFC) entered free agency and signed with the UFC in late 2020. At UFC 257 in January, he made his promotional debut with an impressive first-round TKO win over Dan Hooker.

A member of the roster since 2010, Oliveira (30-8 MMA, 18-8 UFC) enters his first title fight on the most successful run of his UFC tenure. Oliveira has won eight consecutive fights, including victories over Jim Miller, Kevin Lee and, most recently, Tony Ferguson at UFC 256 in December.

With the addition, the UFC 262 lineup includes:

  • Michael Chandler vs. Charles Oliveira
  • Beneil Dariush vs. Tony Ferguson
  • Jamie Pickett vs. Jordan Wright
  • Priscila Cachoeira vs. Gina Mazany
  • Viviane Araujo vs. Katlyn Chookagian
  • Alex Perez vs. Matt Schnell
  • Andrea Lee vs. Antonina Shevchenko
  • Edson Barboza vs. Shane Burgos

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqvpne7c1q486dvv player_id=none image=https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

Trash or cash? Michael Chandler puts Dustin Poirier’s hot sauce to the test

Watch Michael Chandler trash then cash Dustin Poirier’s “Louisiana Style” hot sauce.

Did Theo Von seriously bring [autotag]Dustin Poirier[/autotag]’s hot sauce to [autotag]Michael Chandler[/autotag]’s watch party?

Von, who was among many guests at Chandler’s residence for a Super Bowl watch party, decided to bring a bottle of his good friend Poirier’s “Louisiana Style” hot sauce with him.

The audacity!

Chandler couldn’t help but notice, deciding to dispose of the hot sauce bottle and toss it in the trash.

But wait! before you decide to pile on Chandler, he was just messing around. He picked the bottle back up from the trash and tried the sauce on a chicken wing.

And despite Poirier claiming Chandler didn’t deserve a title shot after his impressive finish of Dan Hooker, Chandler still approves of his hot sauce.

He even put a swipe up link on his Instagram story. What a guy!

The Blue Corner is MMA Junkie’s blog space. We don’t take it overly serious, and neither should you. If you come complaining to us that something you read here is not hard-hitting news, expect to have the previous sentence repeated in ALL CAPS.

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Patricio Freire: Michael Chandler’s UFC success reflects how good I am, Bellator’s talent level

“As my official representative in the UFC right now, everything he does well will look good for me.”

[autotag]Patricio Freire[/autotag] wasn’t disappointed, nor surprised, to see rival [autotag]Michael Chandler[/autotag] succeed at UFC 257.

The outcome was what the Bellator lightweight and featherweight champion Freire envisioned. Chandler defeated Dan Hooker in emphatic fashion with a first-round knockout.

Freire doesn’t think Chandler’s success will end with just one UFC victory.

“I already predicted that he would start that way,” Freire told MMA Junkie in Portuguese through a translator on Thursday. “I think he beats every one of the top guys in the UFC. He has very powerful hands. His striking is getting better, and he’s a super wrestler for MMA. I believe he can be the champion.”

Despite all of the trash talk and bad feelings, which Freire projected to the world on UFC 257 fight night and beyond, Freire likes that Chandler is winning. If Chandler’s stock rises, so does Freire’s. When the two fought in May 2019, Freire defeated Chandler by TKO in 61 seconds. “Pitbull” plans on never letting Chandler live that down.

“I’ve been saying this in all my interviews recently,” Freire said. “This has been a good thing for me. Even if he doesn’t want it to be this way, the more that he wins, the more that me destroying him will look great. I’ve been pretty vocal about it.

“He spent three years talking after he beat my brother on social media, so I’ll be doing this forever. There are some fans that complain and talk trash to me. Others think that’s fine and they like it. But I don’t really give a damn, I just care about what I have the desire to do, and I’ll keep doing it. … As my official representative in the UFC right now, everything he does well will look good for me.”

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For Freire, his comments about Chandler and the UFC aren’t about jealousy or throwing himself into the spotlight. Sure, it’s about rubbing it in Chandler’s face. But furthermore, it’s about telling the world “I told you so. Bellator fighters are as good as any.”

“No one has done to him what I did, and I don’t think anyone ever will,” Freire said. “It’s good for this sport because people talk like Bellator is a second-tier promotion and UFC is the top-tier of the sport. It’s not like that. We are all the same level, but you have differences when you spend all those years saying how we’re the B-league and when getting there we have to prove ourselves.”

“Pitbull” warned Bellator haters that their doubt will backfire. The more an athlete is told he or she can’t do something, the more motivation that’s created to achieve new heights. That’s what Chandler did.

“You have a great fighter who’s now even hungrier and thirstier than he was before, trying to prove to himself that he’s not the can everyone was writing him to be,” Freire said. “It makes not just Chandler, but anyone making the jump from Bellator to the UFC more dangerous than the UFC guys are to us.”

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