Michael Chandler doesn’t seem to be heeding Eddie Alvarez’s warning. The former Bellator champion reportedly agreed to a fight against Justin Gaethje at UFC 268, according to ESPN’s Brett Okamoto.
Ohhhh boy. Here we go, folks. Gaethje (@Justin_Gaethje). Chandler (@MikeChandlerMMA). Verbally agreed, per sources.
UFC 268 PPV. No official date or venue for that PPV just yet, but the target is Nov. 6, Madison Square Garden. pic.twitter.com/Z75u2nlmv2
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) July 30, 2021
News of the yet-to-be finalized booking broke on Friday night. This ends weeks of talk about Gaethje supposedly rejecting a fight with Chandler, something he considers slanderous.
The number-two ranked Gaethje (22-3) began his 2020 with a bang by beating Tony Ferguson for five rounds last May, en route to the interim 155-pound title. He then ran into Khabib Nurmagomedov five months later and was put to sleep in the second round of their undisputed title fight in Abu Dhabi.
Similarly, the number four-ranked Chandler (22-6) opened up the year with an explosive win over Dan Hooker, which landed him a shot at the vacant lightweight title. He also failed to secure UFC gold at UFC 262 in May when he was knocked out by reigning champion Charles Oliveira in round two.
Now we see who gets to do his post-fight backflip off the fence.
UFC 268 takes place on November 6th, likely at Madison Square Garden. Headlining the event is a welterweight title rematch between Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington.
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