M. Chandler (center) shows confidence to become UFC champion. Photo: Reproduction/Instagram
He barely arrived at the UFC and Michael chandler It's already giving something to talk about. Even without debuting for the organization, the former Bellator lightweight champion will be the immediate reserve for the fight between Khabib Nurmagomedov e Justin gaethje, valid by UFC 254, which will take place on October 25th, in Abu Dhabi, and showed confidence in its trajectory in its new home.
In a question and answer session held on his Instagram, Chandler analyzed what a possible meeting with Khabib, current number one in the category, would be like and, despite praising him, he stated that the Russian has never faced a high-level wrestling athlete like him. .
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“I think I'm a better wrestler than Khabib. I'm not disparaging his wrestling. He proved to be the most dominant wrestler in MMA and in the world. What he does is press, go forward, push the opponent to the fence, take him down and punish. Khabib is dangerous in any position, but he has never faced a top-division All-American wrestler. There is a big difference in being a wrestler at this level to other high schoolers, who focus on that again for MMA. Khabib won't take me down. If he succeeds, he won't keep me down. I'm able to take him down, unlike the opponents he faced. When he can't take the fight to the ground, some doubts arise in his head, because he knows he doesn't have good striking. The only way for Khabib to win is clear and I won't let him take me down. I know everyone thinks this way, but I can stop it. I don't know if we will fight now, but in the future, yes. Get ready!” said Chandler.
In addition to Khabib, Gaethje is a name that always stood out to Chandler, who showered him with praise. What's more, the Bellator icon seems to be more excited about the possibility of facing him, as he believes that this fight has everything to be the best in MMA history.
“I think Gaethje became the best lightweight in the world when he beat Ferguson. He was calm, centered, sharp. He fought like he was number one. For Gaethje, my plan would be to put my guard up, tuck my chin in and go all out. Our conditioning is very similar, but I think I have more power and I mix grappling with striking better. I don’t know when we will face each other, but this will be the best fight in the history of MMA!”, he commented.
Despite being on stand-by for the UFC 254, Chandler assured that he does not hope for any of the athletes to get hurt, as he knows how big and important this fight is.
“My opponent is to be determined. I'm the reserve, but I don't want Khabib or Gaethje to leave the fight. This won't be good for them or the UFC, but it's always good to have a replacement. Which athlete would be better than me?”, he concluded.
It is worth remembering that the name of Michael chandler was even offered to athletes at the top of the lightweight rankings, such as Dustin poirier e Tony Ferguson, but both denied it, because they would like to face each other. At 34 years old, Chandler aims to repeat the success that Eddie Alvarez, his great rival, had when leaving Bellator for the UFC, as he also won the belt from Dana White's organization.
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