Michael Chandler says Justin Gaethje refused to fight him

UFC lightweight prospect Michael Chandler has stated that fellow lightweight contender Justin gaethje is not accepting the offer to fight him.

UFC’s lightweight division is one of the most stacked division’s in the history of the promotion. The division is at its peak at the moment. Even though the guys who held the top position at 155 pounds previously are not at the top anymore. The former champion Khabib retired from the sport after he defended the belt against Gaethje. Tony Ferguson is on a three-fight losing streak. Conor Mcgregor hasn’t won a fight at lightweight since his win against Alvarez back in 2016.

Now the division has a new champion in Charles Oliveira who is on an impressive winning streak. The next guy after him is Dustin Poirier who is coming off back to back wins over Conor Mcgregor. Another dark horse in the division is Beneil Dariush who is waiting for his next fight. In all this mix there’s a fight that everyone wants to see is between no.2 ranked Justin Gaethje and No.4 ranked Michael Chandler.

Michael Chandler says Justin Gaethje turned down the fight

Recently in an interview, Chandler was asked about the recent performance of Islam Makhachev who also shared his interest in a matchup with Chandler. During this session, Michael was asked about his next fight to which he called out Justin Gaethje. He also stated that Gaethje was offered the fight multiple times but he is trying to avoid the matchup with Chandler.

“Gaethje should be next. There’s no doubt about it,” Chandler said this week on an Instagram live chat. “There is no secret [Makhachev] and Gaethje both share the same management, so obviously that management would want to say, ‘Hey, throw Islam on the trail. Throw Islam on the Chandler trail so that it takes the heat off of Gaethje.’

“But Justin Gaethje: Come on, bro. You call yourself a fighter, and you are — you’re one of the most exciting guys in mixed martial arts. Be prepared to make a highlight or be made a highlight, because that’s what I am. That’s what I’m ready to do.”

“I’ll tell you what, I’ve said Justin Gaethje’s name no less than 100 times since I’ve signed with the organization,” Chandler said. “He’s been asked to fight me three or four different times. Every time he’s declined. He and I have ranked two spots away from each other. He has not fought since last October. He needs to get a fight in if he thinks he’s going to fight for the title. For some reason, he and his camp have no interest in fighting me.

“So that’s the fight I want, that’s the fight I think it should be. Two of the best guys fighting. It’s also a fight that I know the fans want to see. I know that’s a fight you guys want to see, so that’s my hope, that’s my thought. And I don’t really get why we haven’t heard anything yet.”

Purchase the UFC merch here.

Click to Predict here.

Download the Fanatics Fantasy MMA app here.