A retired UFC veteran doesn’t believe Michael Chandler is worthy of his spot in the top MMA promotion.
It has been tough sledding as of late for Chandler, who is a former three-time Bellator champion. While “Iron” has long developed a reputation for being an exciting fighter, he has lost four bouts in a row. Chandler hasn’t earned a victory since 2022, and top lightweight Arman Tsarukyan has suggested that he should be cut from the UFC roster.
During an edition of MMAFighting‘s “The Fighter vs. The Writer,” Matt Brown admitted he doesn’t view Chandler as a UFC-caliber fighter anymore.
“With Michael Chandler, just his whole UFC run hasn’t been anything of note,” Brown said. “The fact that he’s as big of a star as he is in the UFC, I like Michael Chandler, I’m not trying to knock him, I’m just looking at objective facts — he shouldn’t be the star that he is in the UFC. He’s won two fights in the UFC, 2-6 and how are you 2-6 and you’re as big of a star as him? It doesn’t really add up. He was great in Bellator. He had the great fights with Eddie Alvarez and there’s definitely a lot of potential in him. He hasn’t reached his potential.
“I would not get excited to see him fight again. If I’m Dana White, I either cut him or tell him you need to retire. If he wanted to keep fighting, I think he would probably fit in other organizations. I’d like to see him in bare-knuckle. I’d like to see him maybe in Gamebred MMA, the bare-knuckle stuff. I think there’s fun things for him to do. He’s clearly not a UFC level guy though at 2-6. You can’t do that.”
Chandler’s most recent outing took place during the UFC Freedom 250 card. He was matched up with Mauricio Ruffy in a bout that many expected to be one-sided. Those fears turned out to be correct, as Ruffy scored the first-round TKO finish.
Do you think Michael Chandler’s UFC run should come to an end? Should Chandler retire from pro MMA competition? Drop a comment below.
