Michael Chandler might be searching for a new opponent after the UFC 303 debacle, and it’s hard to argue with his latest ‘Blessed’ suggestion.
Michael Chandler should have been preparing for undoubtedly the biggest fight week in his already-illustrious career and whilst ‘Iron’ sadly won’t be making his return at UFC 303 next weekend, the fan-favorite lightweight is calling his shot; see you at the top.
Michael Chandler teases fight with Max Holloway for UFC title
With Conor McGregor officially pulling out of his UFC 303 main event with an injury, Chandler has been left in limbo – does he again sit out and wait for a ‘Notorious’ payday that might never come, or does he move on and find a new opponent?
Well, if Chandler’s latest series of social media posts are anything to go by, it seems like the ever-entertaining American is leaning toward the latter.
The day started in typical Chandler fashion with his sharing of a new training montage video with the caption: “Haven’t slowed down. Big things in store. Walk On. See you at the top!”
One fan was quick to comment underneath the video, “Chandler vs Holloway” – and what followed was three separate hints that a potential matchup against ‘Blessed’ for the BMF title could be in the works behind the scenes.
First, Chandler replied to the comment with a saluting emoji, an acknowledgment of his desire to see that fight made, followed by a rather simple but to-the-point statement, “Bravo. Mike. Foxtrot.”
For those who might need a little helping hand, that’s BMF; with Chandler certainly being one of the few fighters who would truly be deserving of such a moniker.
Only a few minutes later, ‘Iron’ would return to tease a fight with Holloway once again, posting an image of himself as Russel Crowe’s Maximus from the movie Gladiator with the caption, “Blessed Man Forever.”
At the time of writing, Max Holloway’s next fight has not yet been officially confirmed, with the expectation formerly being that ‘Blessed’ would move back down to 145lbs to face Ilia Topuria for the chance to reclaim his featherweight title.
Given that Chandler likely holds some serious goodwill leverage over the UFC for the whole 303 debacle, it wouldn’t come as a surprise if the promotion opts to give ‘Iron’ what he wants – but we’ll have to wait and see whether he’s really been ‘Blessed’ by the MMA gods for his patience.
Interestingly, only a few hours after Chandler posted about Holloway, the Irish superstar himself would take to social media to reshare an image from his win over Donald Cerrone with the caption, “I’ll be back.”
Michael Chandler shares emotional message on McGregor’s withdrawal
Whilst Chandler has been active on social media since news of McGregor’s withdrawal hit the airwaves, it wasn’t until earlier this week that he shared his true feelings on the matter.
Taking to Instagram, Chandler released a video of himself walking on a nature trail and “thinking about what has transpired over the last couple of days.”
“I got the rug pulled out from underneath me at the last possible moment… The happiest and healthiest, hardest to kill, most dangerous man I have ever been in my entire life, in that moment. To 30 minutes later getting a phone call that all of that was for naught… So what do I do now?’”
Chandler admitted that there is “a little bit of uncertainty in my life” surrounding that potential fight with McGregor being rebooked for a later date but also noted that there are “no guarantees” as to if that would actually come to fruition.
“It’s not up to me to will outcomes into existence. It is up to me to do the work. We let the work talk. We do the work. And we do the work until we become undeniable,” he said, before addressing those trolls online directly.
“Don’t you dare disrespect me by feeling sorry for me. Don’t you dare disrespect me by having any kind of sympathy. Be emboldened by my situation. Be emboldened by my steadfastness and my immovability, of hitching my dreams to a shooting star and continuing to move forward.
“I am emboldened by this test, and this test ain’t done yet. And this test shall turn into part of my testimony. So we keep moving forward in the face of adversity, with complete disregard to previous failures, previous setbacks, previous things outside of out control, and future opposition.”