Michael Chandler celebrates his freedom as he emerges from quarantine for UFC 254 fight week

Michael Chandler is out of quarantine, and the former Bellator lightweight champion clearly cannot wait to get his first UFC fight week underway.

Chandler’s first experience of a UFC fight week will be unlike anything previous UFC newcomers have experienced as he prepares for a fight that, if all goes to plan, won’t actually happen.

Chandler is in Abu Dhabi as a replacement fighter for the UFC 254 main event between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Justin Gaethje, but isn’t booked to face anyone else on Saturday’s fight card.

It means he’s set to go through the full fight week process – from the media obligations to the weight cut, to not just making weight, but making championship weight – all for a fight that probably won’t take place.

On top of all that, Chandler is doing it inside the UFC’s COVID-19 bubble on “UFC Fight Island,” where strict quarantine and safety protocols have to be adhered to in order for him to remain involved in fight week.

But, despite all of the crazy circumstances surrounding his situation, Chandler is taking it all in his stride and with a smile on his face, as he showed in his latest Instagram video, where he shared the moment when a UFC staffer knocked on his hotel room door to inform him that his mandatory 48-hour quarantine period was finally over.

He looked delighted to finally get out of his hotel room but, based on what we could see from his video, the view from his room wasn’t exactly the worst we’ve seen.

View this post on Instagram

When you get the knock on the door you’ve been waiting 48 hours for. – Feels good to be free. Let’s get fight week going! – See you at the top! – : @randelaleman – #mma #ufc #ufc254 #fightisland #ufcfightisland #wabudhabi #inabudhabi

A post shared by Michael Chandler (@mikechandlermma) on Oct 18, 2020 at 11:58pm PDT

If everything goes to plan this week, we won’t be seeing Chandler in action on fight night, but it certainly won’t be for a lack of enthusiasm on his part. But, if something dramatic did happen between now and fight night, the UFC has an in-form, in-shape replacement raring to go. We’ve seen countless fight-week dramas over the years, so we’re not counting our chickens, because anything could happen. If it does, Chandler’s ready.

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