Michael Chandler reveals signing with the UFC was “a competition thing” as it wasn’t the most lucrative offer

Michael Chandler reveals the UFC did not offer him the most amount of money during his free agency.

Following Chandler’s first-round KO over Benson Henderson, the former Bellator lightweight champion headed to free agency which is something he wanted to do. When he became a free agent, “Iron” admits he wanted to sign with the UFC but it needed to make financial sense.

“The UFC is where I wanted to land, for sure, but you are not making a smart business decision as a free agent unless you at least entertain all the offers. All the offers were great, both financially and also just the people,” Chandler said to Brendan Schaub on Food Truck Diaries. “Being able to sit across the negotiation table with PFL, with ONE Championship and continue to talk to Bellator at the same time was an interesting process. As soon as I sat in that room at the UFC offices I was like this is where I was going to end up. 72 hours later we got the deal done.”

Although he ended up signing with the UFC, Michael Chandler reveals the Las Vegas-based promotion did not offer him the most amount of money. Instead, for him, he says the competition aspect of the UFC and trying to prove he is the best is what drew him to sign with them.

“It wasn’t the most but it was more of a competition thing. I’ve made decisions on financial incentives many times. It worked out for me for a long time in Bellator,” Chandler explained. “Some people chase the money, some people chase the competition. Somewhere in between the two could be the best option for a lot of people. For me, the UFC offer was the right offer at the right time and it’s the most exciting division in the entire UFC right now.”

Michael Chandler has still yet to make his UFC debut but hopefully is booked soon against a top-ranked opponent.

Who would you like to see Michael Chandler make his debut against?