1 week Ago By Dominique Campbell, Dice City Sports
One thing about lightweight contender Michael Chandler is that he always brings the excitement to the octagon. Chandler made his octagon debut in UFC 257 in January 2021. He first dominated Dan Hooker in the first round, then battled against Charles Oliveira in his next fight.
Chandler lost to Oliveira and then to Justin Gaethje before knocking out Tony Ferguson. Chandler then went on to meet Dustin Poirier but was defeated via submission but earned ‘Fight of the Night’ honors. He rematched with Oliveria last November in UFC 309.
The fight went the distance, and Oliveira was clearly the winner. The fight also earned ‘Fight of the Night’ honors. Recently, Chandler was asked by legendary boxing trainer Teddy Atlas if it was more important to win or to leave the fans in awe of his effort.
“As I sit here today, the Michael that’s sitting here...
You want to win, but there’s something that happens when that cage door closes,” Chandler said. Chandler continued, “Since I was 14-years old and I started hand-to-hand combat and wrestling, there was only one speed. It wasn’t always thinking about the techniques.
It wasn’t always thinking about how do I win. It was just like; how do I give my full self to this wrestling match? How do I give my full self to this fight?” Chandler has proven that he able to compete with the best of the best in the division, but the question is can Paddy Pimblett in UFC 314? “I’m not saying Paddy isn’t a top guy or isn’t a scary guy. He hasn’t proven that yet.
I believe my skillset is enough to not just beat him but to dominate him,” continued Chandler. “There’s less of a question on, ‘Is Michael Chandler that guy that we all think he is and more of a question of, ‘Where does Paddy Pimblett fit in all of this? And I think I will emphatically show people the answer to that question on April 12th.” This article first appeared on Dice City Sports and was syndicated with permission.
.
