Michael Chandler News

Tom Taylor - May 13, 2019

Over the weekend, in the main event of the finish-filled Bellator 221 card, Michael Chandler attempted to defend the lightweight strap against featherweight champ and arch rival Patricio “Pitbull” Freire. Unfortunately for Chandler, who is one of Bellator’s most visible stars, this fight went quite disastrously. Moments into the first round, he was stung by a Pitbull punch, and seconds later, the fight was being waved off by the referee. Yet Chandler has been adamant that he wasn’t in any real trouble, and that he deserved more time to recover.

Chris Taylor - May 11, 2019

Lightweight champion Michael Chandler put his title on the line against bitter rival and current featherweight champion Patricio Freire in tonight’s Bellator 221 main event. Michael Chandler (19-4 MMA) reclaimed the Bellator lightweight title at December’s Bellator 212 event, this by defeating Brent Primus via unanimous decision. Chandler enters tonight’s headliner having won seven of his past eight fights, which includes a knockout win over Patricio’s brother Patricky.

Tom Taylor - February 14, 2019

According to a report from ESPN, Bellator featherweight champion Patricio Freire will move up in weight to challenge lightweight champion Michael Chandler at Bellator 221 on May 11 at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois. The pair’s grudge match will reportedly be officially announced by the promotion in the coming days.

Chris Taylor - December 15, 2018

Patricio and Patricky Freire were not impressed by the performance of Michael Chandler at last night’s Bellator 212 event in Hawaii. Chandler handed Brent Primus his first career loss in last night’s headliner, thus reclaiming his Bellator lightweight world title.

Drake Riggs - December 10, 2018

Former two-time Bellator lightweight champion Michael Chandler has undeniably established himself as one of the best fighters outside of the UFC. At Bellator 212, he looks to reclaim the title that he controversially lost.

Mike Straus - December 6, 2018

Two-time Bellator lightweight champion Michael Chandler is on a mission to get his title back. And he is willing to do whatever it takes to accomplish his goal. Chandler, 32, is one of the best 155-pound fighters in the world. He is arguably Bellator MMA’s best athlete and has been the promotions go-to guy for the last few years. And boy does he want his lightweight title back.

Tom Taylor - October 17, 2018

Michael Chandler is one of the best lightweight fighters in the world. For the moment, however, he is not able to test himself against the sport’s consensus best lightweight fighter, UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. That’s because Chandler currently calls Bellator MMA home, whereas Nurmagomedov is tied up with a UFC contract. While Michael Chandler and Khabib Nurmagomedov currently fight for different promotions, Chandler believes it’s possible they’ll find themselves under the same roof in the future. He could wind up in the UFC, or Nurmagomedov could end up in Bellator. In fact, he believes it’s possible the UFC champ could be fighting for Bellator within a year or two.

Tom Taylor - October 11, 2018

On December 15, Bellator will touch down in Honolulu, Hawaii with Bellator 211. The card will be headlined by a women’s flyweight title fight between Hawaiian champ Ilima-Lei MacFarlane, and co-headlined by a middleweight scrap between former UFC champ Lyoto Machida and former Bellator champ Rafael Carvalho. Amazingly, this stacked card is not all that Bellator is offering the fans in Hawaii, who have been waiting years for major MMA show. The night before this card, in the very same Honolulu venue, the promotion will honor the military with a card titled ‘Salute the Troops,’ which will be free for members of the US armed forces and their friends and families.

Tom Taylor - August 22, 2018

For a moment, it looked possible that former Bellator MMA lightweight champion Michael Chandler might leave his long-time home and sign with another promotion. In the end, however, Chandler has reportedly resigned with Bellator. This, per ESPN’s Brett Okamoto, who says Bellator pursued Chandler “hard.”

Drake Riggs - August 20, 2018

When two fighters put on two of the greatest fights ever seen in MMA history…who wouldn’t want to see a third and final bout? This is the case with two of the lightweight division’s very best, Michael Chandler and Eddie Alvarez.

Tom Taylor - June 22, 2018

According to a report from ESPN, former Bellator lightweight champion Michael Chandler’s current Bellator contract is set to expire “imminently.” This news has generated a tidal wave of excitement among fans who are interested in seeing Chandler, long considered one of the world’s premier lightweights, move to the UFC’s Octagon where a bevy of fresh matchups await. According to ESPN’s report, however, Chandler and his team are currently engaged in “productive” negotiations with Bellator, which would seem to imply a high likelihood of his re-signing with the promotion. That said, the report also mentions that Chandler is willing to see what other promotions are prepared to offer too.

Tom Taylor - May 8, 2018

Late last month, BJJ ace and Conor McGregor training partner Dillon Danis made a successful MMA debut, tapping Kyle Walker with a first-round toe-hold on the main card of Bellator 198. Shortly thereafter, former Bellator lightweight champ Michael Chandler took to Twitter to share his thoughts on Danis. Just catching up to #bellator198 @dillondanis said he was the “highest paid fighter in @BellatorMMA” but I think he meant to say “most un-athletic fighter in Bellator” and that was against a man with a losing record. #cringe #slow #sloth #bellator198

Tom Taylor - April 18, 2018

The lightweight division could not be interesting right now. The undefeated Khabib Nurmagomedov now sits on the UFC lightweight throne, while Tony Ferguson recovers from surgery, and Conor McGregor adds an ever-present asterisk to the lightweight title situation. Then there are dangerous UFC lightweight contenders like Dustin Poirier, Eddie Alvarez, Al Iaquinta, Kevin Lee, and Edson Barboza. And of course, there are the countless top lightweight talents who currently reside outside the UFC, like Bellator staple Michael Chandler. Speaking on MMAJunkie Radio this week, Chandler delved deep on the state of the lightweight division. While he’s certainly paying attention to the goings-on over in the UFC, however, he has no intention of leaving Bellator when his current contract wraps up.

Drake Riggs - April 12, 2018

Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he brought them out of their distresses. He caused the storm to be still so that the waves of the sea were hushed. Then they were glad because they were quiet, so he guided them to their desired haven… This isn’t always the case in MMA…not even close. As our combat-loving gods have shown over the years, they are very, very, very merciless. The evidence can be seen with the entire fight week leading up to UFC 223 this past week. On April Fools Day of all days out of the 365 days in a year, the UFC announced to the world that interim lightweight champion, Tony Ferguson had been injured out of his main event title fight with Khabib Nurmagomedov. That by itself was enough to put everyone into a frenzy of disbelief.

Tom Taylor - October 2, 2017

Shortly after he defeated Benson Henderson at Bellator 183, Patricky “Pitbull” Freire called for a fight with Bellator lightweight champion Brent Primus. Unfortunately for him, Bellator boss Scott Coker then assured that the next lightweight title shot will probably go to former champion Michael Chandler. Apparently, however, a rematch with Primus isn’t at the top of Chandler’s list.

Tom Taylor - September 25, 2017

On Saturday night, in the main event of Bellator 183, long-time Bellator lightweight contender Patricky “Pitbull” Freire picked up a close decision win over former UFC and WEC lightweight champion Benson Henderson. In the moments after this win, Freire called for a fight with reigning Bellator lightweight champion Brent Primus, who captured the title from Michael Chandler back in June. “I want the champion,” Pitbull said. “I want Brent Primus. Tonight I took down another former champion and I want my shot at that belt. He keeps running from me but now it’s time. I want that belt and after tonight I earned my shot at it. Benson Henderson is a good, tough fighter, but I’ve got my mind on the division title now. You can’t keep running Primus.”

Chris Taylor - June 24, 2017

Bellator NYC Results: Michael Chandler vs. Brent Primus A lightweight title fight between current champion Michael Chandler and top division contender Brent Primus took place during tonight’s “Bellator NYC” main card on pay-per-view.

Tom Taylor - November 19, 2016

On Saturday night, Bellator MMA returned to the SAP Center in San Jose, California with Bellator 165. In the card’s main event, reigning Bellator lightweight champion Michael Chandler attempted to defend his title against former WEC and UFC lightweight titleholder Benson Henderson. Though Chandler would ultimately succeed on this mission, Henderson did not make it easy for him.