UFC lightweight contender Michael Chandler has stated his uncertainty around title shots. He is unsure whether his next matchup with Tony Ferguson will grant him a title shot. UFC is trying to book a fight between former title challenger Michael Chandler and former interim UFC lightweight champion Tony Ferguson. For many fans, this fight didn’t make sense as many felt that Tony is at the tail end of his career, and to make him fight someone like Michael Chandler is a bad idea. But even though Tony has lost his last three fights, he is still one of the best lightweights of all time and is a great stylistic matchup for Michael Chandler.
Michael Chandler on the other hand is 1-2 in his UFC career but has gone through some of the best fighters UFC has to offer. He won his debut UFC fight via TKO against Dan Hooker. He lost his next two fights against Oliveira and Justin Gaethje. His last fight against Justin Gaethje is considered one of the best fights of all time and also the fight of the year 2021. Now he is targeted to face UFC lightweight veteran Tony Ferguson who once was the no.1 contender in the lightweight division for a very long time.
But now Michael Chandler is not confident that if he wins his fight against Tony Ferguson,it will help him climb the ranking and get a chance to fight for the title. Justin Gaethje is currently targeted to face the lightweight champion, Charles Oliveira, for the lightweight championship.
“Do I think I automatically make myself the No. 1 contender by beating Tony Ferguson or winning my next fight?” Chandler questioned ESPN’s “DC & RC.” “I don’t think so under normal circumstances, but these are not normal circumstances.”
According to Michael Chandler, UFC fans want to see him rematch Charles Oliveira for the lightweight championship.
“I think everyone wants to see a rematch of myself and Charles Oliveira,” Chandler said. “They want to see – they definitely want to see a rematch, Chapter 2 of the Fight of the Year against myself and Justin Gaethje. So, I’ve kind of put myself in a unique position where I could be one win away, and I get the nod to go out there and win the title by the end of 2022.”
Michael Chandler said that he is ready to take the long way towards the title shot if that’s what UFC wants.
“If I gotta fight two more fights, three more fights to get back to the title, that’s what I’m gonna do,” Chandler said. “Either way, everybody’s on notice now. When I step inside the UFC octagon, and I strap on those gloves, and I bite down on that mouthpiece, you’re gonna be on the edge of your seat. You’re gonna buy the pay-per-view, and we’re gonna have a blast.”