Michael Chandler News

Chris Taylor - December 14, 2018

The lightweight belt was on the line in tonight’s Bellator 212 main event as reigning division champion Brent Primus squared off with former title holder Michael Chandler. Michael Chandler had previously surrendered his Bellator lightweight world title to Brent Primus in June of 2017, this after suffering a leg injury that resulted in an eventual TKO.

Drake Riggs - December 10, 2018

Former two-time Bellator lightweight champion Michael Chandler has undeniably established himself as one of the best fighters outside of the UFC. At Bellator 212, he looks to reclaim the title that he controversially lost.

Mike Straus - December 6, 2018

Two-time Bellator lightweight champion Michael Chandler is on a mission to get his title back. And he is willing to do whatever it takes to accomplish his goal. Chandler, 32, is one of the best 155-pound fighters in the world. He is arguably Bellator MMA’s best athlete and has been the promotions go-to guy for the last few years. And boy does he want his lightweight title back.

Tom Taylor - October 17, 2018

Michael Chandler is one of the best lightweight fighters in the world. For the moment, however, he is not able to test himself against the sport’s consensus best lightweight fighter, UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. That’s because Chandler currently calls Bellator MMA home, whereas Nurmagomedov is tied up with a UFC contract. While Michael Chandler and Khabib Nurmagomedov currently fight for different promotions, Chandler believes it’s possible they’ll find themselves under the same roof in the future. He could wind up in the UFC, or Nurmagomedov could end up in Bellator. In fact, he believes it’s possible the UFC champ could be fighting for Bellator within a year or two.

Drake Riggs - September 25, 2018

The Bellator lightweight title rematch that we’ve been waiting for seems to finally be finding a spot where it can take place. Well…a date anyway! On June 24, 2017, Bellator took their talents to Madison Square Garden for the first time ever as three titles were on the line that night. One of those titles was the prestigious lightweight crown.

Tom Taylor - August 22, 2018

For a moment, it looked possible that former Bellator MMA lightweight champion Michael Chandler might leave his long-time home and sign with another promotion. In the end, however, Chandler has reportedly resigned with Bellator. This, per ESPN’s Brett Okamoto, who says Bellator pursued Chandler “hard.”

Drake Riggs - August 20, 2018

When two fighters put on two of the greatest fights ever seen in MMA history…who wouldn’t want to see a third and final bout? This is the case with two of the lightweight division’s very best, Michael Chandler and Eddie Alvarez.

Tom Taylor - June 22, 2018

According to a report from ESPN, former Bellator lightweight champion Michael Chandler’s current Bellator contract is set to expire “imminently.” This news has generated a tidal wave of excitement among fans who are interested in seeing Chandler, long considered one of the world’s premier lightweights, move to the UFC’s Octagon where a bevy of fresh matchups await. According to ESPN’s report, however, Chandler and his team are currently engaged in “productive” negotiations with Bellator, which would seem to imply a high likelihood of his re-signing with the promotion. That said, the report also mentions that Chandler is willing to see what other promotions are prepared to offer too.

Chris Taylor - April 29, 2018

Michael Chandler blasts Dillon Danis following Bellator 198 Submission specialist Dillon Danis picked up a first-round submission victory over Kyle Walker on the main card of last night’s Bellator 198 event in Chicago.

Tom Taylor - April 18, 2018

The lightweight division could not be interesting right now. The undefeated Khabib Nurmagomedov now sits on the UFC lightweight throne, while Tony Ferguson recovers from surgery, and Conor McGregor adds an ever-present asterisk to the lightweight title situation. Then there are dangerous UFC lightweight contenders like Dustin Poirier, Eddie Alvarez, Al Iaquinta, Kevin Lee, and Edson Barboza. And of course, there are the countless top lightweight talents who currently reside outside the UFC, like Bellator staple Michael Chandler. Speaking on MMAJunkie Radio this week, Chandler delved deep on the state of the lightweight division. While he’s certainly paying attention to the goings-on over in the UFC, however, he has no intention of leaving Bellator when his current contract wraps up.

Drake Riggs - April 12, 2018

Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he brought them out of their distresses. He caused the storm to be still so that the waves of the sea were hushed. Then they were glad because they were quiet, so he guided them to their desired haven… This isn’t always the case in MMA…not even close. As our combat-loving gods have shown over the years, they are very, very, very merciless. The evidence can be seen with the entire fight week leading up to UFC 223 this past week. On April Fools Day of all days out of the 365 days in a year, the UFC announced to the world that interim lightweight champion, Tony Ferguson had been injured out of his main event title fight with Khabib Nurmagomedov. That by itself was enough to put everyone into a frenzy of disbelief.

Tom Taylor - October 2, 2017

Shortly after he defeated Benson Henderson at Bellator 183, Patricky “Pitbull” Freire called for a fight with Bellator lightweight champion Brent Primus. Unfortunately for him, Bellator boss Scott Coker then assured that the next lightweight title shot will probably go to former champion Michael Chandler. Apparently, however, a rematch with Primus isn’t at the top of Chandler’s list.

Tom Taylor - August 20, 2017

Earlier this weekend, former UFC welterweight title challenger Rory MacDonald began to express his frustration with Bellator’s failure to keep him active. Speaking out on social media, the Canadian star claimed that he hoped to fight again this year, but that the promotion couldn’t make it happen, and that he was getting impatient. unfortunately no 4 this year, i was pushing very hard 2 fight atleast once more this year but it doesnt look like it will happen

Chris Taylor - June 24, 2017

Bellator NYC Results: Michael Chandler vs. Brent Primus A lightweight title fight between current champion Michael Chandler and top division contender Brent Primus took place during tonight’s “Bellator NYC” main card on pay-per-view.

Tom Taylor - November 19, 2016

On Saturday night, Bellator MMA returned to the SAP Center in San Jose, California with Bellator 165. In the card’s main event, reigning Bellator lightweight champion Michael Chandler attempted to defend his title against former WEC and UFC lightweight titleholder Benson Henderson. Though Chandler would ultimately succeed on this mission, Henderson did not make it easy for him.

Tom Taylor - October 4, 2016

https://youtu.be/G-TVQLtfjRk?t=1m18s Michael Chandler, who currently owns the Bellator lightweight strap, is 1-1 across two bouts with reigning UFC lightweight champ Eddie Alvarez. As such, Chandler’s commentary on Alvarez’s looming title fight with Conor McGregor is especially interesting.

Tom Taylor - August 31, 2016

Bellator lightweight champion Michael Chandler’s immediate future looks like it could get very interesting. We know that he’ll be taking on former UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson on November 19. Should he pass that test, Chandler can then look forward to a scrap with another UFC veteran in Josh Thompson, and perhaps even to a scrap with former Bellator featherweight champion Patricio “Pitbull” Freire. Yet on his Monday appearance on The MMA Hour, Chandler explained to host Ariel Helwani that his big-ticket possibilities don’t end there either. Instead, he said he’d be interested in a possible move up to 170lbs to fight recent Bellator signee Rory MacDonald.