Dana White announces that the UFC has signed
Michael Chandler and he will be a backup for Khabib Nurmagomedov
and Justin Gaethje if one falls out.#UFC254— Keith Shillan (@KeithShillanMMA)
September 17, 2020
Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC live on
your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the
ESPN app. Bellator MMA champ Michael
Chandler is now on the
Ultimate Fighting Championship roster, and he is in prime
position for a huge opportunity should things go his way. On Thursday, UFC President Dana White announced on ESPN that
Chandler (21-5) has signed with the UFC. His first scheduled
matchup will actually be as a backup opponent in case either
Khabib
Nurmagomedov or Justin
Gaethje cannot compete at
UFC 254. That event, the final on a five-card stretch on Yas
Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, is scheduled for Oct.
24. After much was made about Chandler’s free agency status, he
elected to join the ranks of the Las Vegas-based organization in
the lightweight division that he ruled across several years in
Bellator. Should that match not come to fruition, it is unclear who
Chandler would face going forward, but the top echelon of the
weight category presents a plethora of promising prospects.
Chandler won his last two fights by first-round knockout, smashing
Sidney
Outlaw in Japan and Benson
Henderson in August. The knockout over former UFC lightweight
king Henderson was only the second he had ever suffered, with the
first coming against Rafael dos
Anjos in controversial fashion in 2014. The only two losses for
“Iron Mike” dating back to 2015 have come against Brent
Primus by injury and Patricio
Freire by knockout. The Bellator mainstay since 2010 has
amassed a litany of records across his Bellator-high number of
fights (23). His knockout of Henderson gave him the fourth-most
strike stoppages in Bellator history.
Although a fighter in the prospective Tony
Ferguson vs. Dustin
Poirier matchup had been considered up for a replacement in
case an issue struck Nurmagomedov or Gaethje, that fight is
no longer on the table. Should he need to step up for the
headliner, Chandler would become one of a small number of fighters
in the modern era getting a UFC title shot in their promotional
debut. He would join the likes of Joe Soto,
Gilbert
Melendez and Liz
Carmouche along with a few from seasons of “The Ultimate
Fighter” like Nicco
Montano, Carla
Esparza and Rose
Namajunas.
UFC 254 takes place on Yas Island on Oct. 24, with a top billing of
Nurmagomedov vs. Gaethje. The co-main event is currently Alexander
Volkov vs. Walt Harris
at heavyweight, while Robert
Whittaker and Jared
Cannonier will square off in a potential middleweight title
eliminator matchup earlier on the main card.
