Michael Chandler recently opened up about overcoming doubts when he joined the UFC in 2020. Although Chandler was already a well-established fighter, he wanted to prove himself against the best lightweights in the world.
Before joining the UFC, Chandler competed in Bellator, where he became a three-time lightweight champion. While in Bellator, he defeated many notable opponents, including former UFC champions Eddie Alvarez and Benson Henderson.
After a successful run with Bellator, Chandler made the decision to sign with the UFC. His debut fight was not an easy one, as he was faced Dan Hooker.
During an appearance on INSIGHT with Chris Van Vliet, Chandler shared his thoughts on overcoming early skepticism. He revealed that he felt a lot of pressure going into his UFC debut against Hooker.
“It’s my UFC debut. All the pressure, all the bright lights, all the hype. And everybody’s like, ‘Oh, finally Chandler’s coming over to the UFC. And there were some people were like, ‘Yeah, he’s never been good. Let’s watch him get smoke,’” Chandler recalled. “[I] ripped off the promo and that was my first introduction and everybody’s like, ‘Oh, wow, we like this guy. This is good,’”
Michael Chandler Recalls First Meeting with UFC Matchmaker Hunter Campbell
Michael Chandler also reflected on his first conversation with Hunter Campbell before signing with the UFC. He didn’t want any favorable matchups.
Chandler remembered his first meeting with Campbell, where he requested the toughest opponents available. The former Bellator champion didn’t want to waste time and immediately aimed for the top of the division.
This mentality worked in his favor, as it showed the UFC that Chandler was determined to make a statement.
“I’ve stayed true to my word and they’ve stayed true to their word,” Chandler told INSIGHT with Chris Van Vliet. I said, ‘Hunter, I want to be a good thing for your organization, and number-two, I want to have the toughest fights right away. I don’t want any tiptoe around the top-20, tune-up fights, I’m going to be thrown into the shark infested waters of the UFC.”
He continued, listing some of his opponents and their ranking at the time.
“I fought [Hooker], who was #5, then Charles Oliveira, who was #2 for the title, Justin Gaethje, who was #2 or #3, then Tony Ferguson, #7 at the time but still a perennial top guy. Then, Dustin Poirier,” Chandler said. “I never shied away from a fight, I wanted to fight all the toughest guys.”
Chandler Reveals He Always Wanted to Join the UFC
Although he was a top fighter in Bellator, Chandler always had the goal of joining the UFC. He held high standards for himself and wanted to prove that he was among the best.
Speaking with Chris Van Vliet, Chandler shared his thoughts on how he was perceived within the MMA community at the time. ‘Iron’ admitted that he would have felt disappointed if he never fought in the UFC.
“Fighting in Bellator for a decade, there was always this, ‘Is he good? Is he not good? He’s not fighting the toughest competition,’” Chandler said. “Even for myself, I knew that. I wanted to talk like I was the best guy in the world, of course, because I believed I was a top guy but I hadn’t proven it yet.”
He added:
“I didn’t want to ever think about when I lay those gloves down for the last time, lay my head on the pillow at night, that I didn’t test myself against the toughest guys. And now, I can honestly say I have.”
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