Michael Chandler doesn’t have time to carry onto grudges however particularly those who really feel like a lifetime in the past.
In considered one of his closing fights beneath the Bellator MMA banner, Chandler misplaced his light-weight title in a shocking upset to Patricio Pitbull, who scored a knockout simply 61 seconds into the primary spherical. The rivalry between them bought reasonably heated within the leadup to the struggle and looking out again now, Chandler is aware of that a large a part of that stemmed from his previous win over Pitbull’s brother and feedback that possible bought misconstrued as private trash discuss.
“I’ll inform you what it was — he has a brother who fought, proper?” Chandler advised MMA Combating. “His brother [Patricky Pitbull] is his household and I feel as a result of the language barrier or no matter, I stated one thing about household and I feel he took it as ‘oh you’re speaking about my spouse, my children, my mother, my aunt’ and I’m like no dude, I’m actually simply speaking about your brother. The way in which I see it, I’d like to bury that hatchet.”
Chandler admits that he wasn’t in an important headspace throughout his closing couple of years in Bellator, particularly as he contemplated his future. Regardless of all that he achieved as a multi-time champion whereas being thought-about among the finest lightweights on the earth, Chandler nonetheless wasn’t a identified amount to the bigger viewers as a result of Bellator simply didn’t break via that ceiling.
That led to Chandler taking a stab at constructing a much bigger, higher rivalry along with his opponents and that largely began with the struggle towards Pitbull in 2019.
“My final couple of fights in Bellator I used to be not completely satisfied. one hundred pc not completely satisfied,” Chandler stated. “I felt as if I used to be working simply as onerous as each single dude you lined within the UFC. I used to be coaching simply as onerous because the UFC champion. Simply as onerous because the No. 1 man on the earth. Simply as onerous as the largest superstars on the planet but I wasn’t getting the credit score for it. It was so onerous to construct a model and construct a profession and construct one thing exterior of the UFC as a result of all the pieces else, whether or not you prefer it or not, it doesn’t matter what your opinion is, it isn’t even near what the UFC is.
“I noticed it, I knew it, and I feel a few of that spilled over into a few of these fights. I feel I needed one thing greater. I needed animosity. I needed a storyline. I stand corrected. I really feel like I didn’t act inside my character due to what was occurring the enterprise aspect/promotional aspect of the combating stuff. I wasn’t maintaining the principle factor, the principle factor, which is combating in a cage. Patricio was a type of guys.”
After signing with the UFC and reserving his debut struggle towards Yair Rodriguez in April, Pitbull advised MMA Combating’s Guilherme Cruz that he was excited to share the cardboard with Chandler as a result of it might be “the primary time in historical past that father and son struggle on the identical day.”
Whereas Pitbull added that he revered Chandler as a fighter, he would by no means lose the need to face him once more as a result of in his thoughts that rivalry didn’t finish simply because they clashed prior to now.
Listening to these feedback didn’t fireplace Chandler up or change the way in which he felt about Pitbull.
As an alternative, Chandler really hopes Pitbull finds success now that he’s a part of the UFC roster and he was really completely satisfied to see the previous Bellator champion safe his launch following an unsightly forwards and backwards with the PFL over his lack of exercise with the promotion.
“I’d like to bury the hatchet,” Chandler stated about Pitbull. “I’m excited for him. Pumped for him. I do know for a truth, 1,000-percent he’s very pleased with the choice he has made. You would undergo the laundry checklist of all of the tweets which can be popping out proper now straight to Donn Davis, earlier than it was Bellator, straight to those different organizations ‘give me a struggle.’ Folks holding folks hostage, they’re not completely satisfied.
“Whether or not you prefer it or not, whether or not the UFC is the massive dangerous man who makes all the cash and doesn’t pay their guys sufficient, that is the one place in your complete world to construct a ridiculously giant blended martial arts profession and UFC goes to maintain doing what they’re doing and also you’re going to maintain seeing guys come over as a result of I feel the writing is on the wall and it’s fairly black and white.”
Since he signed with the UFC, Chandler’s profession trajectory has reached new heights in terms of recognition and alternatives each inside and out of doors the cage. He expects extra fighters like Pitbull to understand the identical factor bout combating within the UFC versus every other group on the earth.
“The UFC is the one place to construct a worthwhile, significant blended martial arts profession and now you’re seeing Patricio come over, you see Aaron Pico speaking about it,” Chandler stated. “You’re seeing everyone desires to return over so I’m enthusiastic about it.”
So far as Pitbull saying he would welcome a future rematch, Chandler isn’t — at the very least based mostly on the previous they share collectively.
“I’m not an unfinished enterprise form of man,” Chandler stated. “If I misplaced to you, no matter I can sleep at night time. If I beat you, no matter I can sleep at night time. That’s undoubtedly not a struggle I’m taken with.
“He may find yourself being prime 5 if he beats Yair Rodriguez on a card with a vacant 145 [pound] title. UFC is aware of what they’re doing. They’re placing him in a great spot and now he’s bought a possibility to sink or swim.”
