Michael Chandler opens up on stoppage loss to Paddy Pimblett at UFC 314: “I couldn’t get my rhythm”

Michael Chandler has broken his silence on his UFC 314 loss to Paddy Pimblett.

Chandler took a risk in fighting Pimblett back in April, and he was dominated en route to a third-round TKO loss. It was a surprising result given that Chandler had fought the better competition, but ‘Iron’ has nothing but praise for Pimbeltt, looking back on the fight.

“I feel like I couldn’t get my rhythm,” Chandler told MMA Junkie in his first interview since the loss. “I couldn’t get my range. Obviously, Paddy’s long. Paddy fights long, he fights with his chin way up in the air, and he’s pretty far away from you. Throws a lot of kicks to keep the distance, and I felt like I was just kind of getting settled in and obviously, took the knee to the face, and then got taken down, and that was the end of it. It’s one of those deals where you learn. Hat’s off to Paddy, he had a great gameplan, went out there and got the win.”

Michael Chandler felt like Paddy Pimblett stuck to his game plan and had answers for everything he did. However, in the lead-up to the fight, there were questions about his health.

Chandler admits he did have a knee injury, but says it was his decision to take the fight, and he can’t use that as an excuse. Instead, he says all the credit needs to go to Pimblett for the win.

Michael Chandler plans to take time off

With Michael Chandler suffering the TKO loss to Paddy Pimblett, he plans to take some time off.

Chadler says he has no desire to return until later this year as he wants to heal up and make sure he’s 100% healthy for his next fight.

“I’m definitely going to take a little bit of time off – I’m going to take the summer off,” Chandler said. “I’ve already spoken to the UFC that, ‘Hey, don’t call me for any summer shows.’ I will show up, I will be a fan, I will do some appearances, I will be a part of the UFC brand, but I need to take a little bit of time off and heal my body up. Then we’ll see what’s next. There’s obviously a ton of different names out there, ton of possibilities, and we’ll see.”

Michael Chandler is now 23-10 and on a three-fight losing streak. He’s 2-5 in the UFC.