Michael Chandler is readying himself to compete on Oct. 24, but he won’t fight just anyone.
Chandler (21-5 MMA, 0-0 UFC) is serving as a backup fighter for the main event between lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and Justin Gaethje at UFC 254, but said that he isn’t interested in fighting Islam Makhachev, who recently lost his opponent.
Makhachev (18-1 MMA, 7-1 UFC) was slated to face Rafael dos Anjos at UFC 254, but the former UFC lightweight champion was forced out after he tested positive for COVID-19. Makhachev declared his interest in facing Chandler, but Chandler said he wasn’t interested. As a result, Makhachev was removed from the card.
Speaking to MMA Junkie, the former three-time Bellator lightweight champion explained that a matchup with 12th-ranked Makhachev wouldn’t make sense, considering that even if he doesn’t get to compete on Oct. 24, he’s still on the cusp of title contention.
“The answer is no,” Chandler said. “I think there’s already been talks about the next move after this. The ship has sailed as far as – like I said, if Tony Ferguson did say, ‘Yeah OK, I’ll be your huckleberry Oct. 24,’ which if there’s anybody out there that might actually do something like that it would be Tony Ferguson, but at this point, I’m not changing courses. At this point I’m not taking a short notice fight against a guy, as I said, my words have been somewhat misconstrued and people are just hitting me up left and right.
“When I say people, I mean like Russians, Dagestanis, all these guys on the Khabib train – there’s millions and millions of them – they’re crushing me, calling me chicken and coward, but I didn’t sign this contract to go out there and fight anybody, especially on two weeks’ notice and change the opponent, change the plan and change everything. As of right now, I’m the backup for the world title fight, I’m keeping my body, my mind, my soul, my spirit ready for the next move.”
With a matchup between Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier close to being finalized, Chandler mentioned that he has a hunch that he’d be matched up with Tony Ferguson next, which could potentially earn him a shot at the winner of Nurmagomedov vs. Gaethje.
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