Win or lose, Michael Chandler brings chaos, intensity, and highlight-reel moments. But as exciting as those performances are, at some point, the all-action approach has to start turning into actual wins.
2-4 in the UFC since his much-anticipated debut in 2021, Chandler has lost to Justin Gaethje, Dustin Poirier, and Charles Oliveira twice amid a two-year break to hopefully fight Conor McGregor, which has significantly hurt his career. Now, at 38, as he prepares for Paddy Pimblett at UFC 314, UFC analyst Daniel Cormier believes it’s do or die for the former Bellator champion.
The UFC intends on pushing Pimblett into the top echelons of the 155 lbs division. Ranked 12th on the list of UFC lightweights, Pimblett will be the first of the newer generation to break into true contention if he can manage a win over the American.
For Chandler, however, it’s a matter of living up to his own hype. He’s been coasting on it for four years now but the winds- they are a-shifting.
“I believe Chandler has more pressure,” Cormier said of his historical inability to convert exciting fights into wins.
“He is that guy—win or lose, nothing really affects him,” Cormier added, pointing out how Chandler has managed to maintain his reputation despite several high-profile losses.
“He loses… well, that was a great fight, but Dustin got the job done,” Cormier said. And with Gaethje?
“That was a tremendous fight, but Gaethje won the fight”, DC reminded.
Further expanding on that while speaking to Sonnen during their episode of Good Guy/Bad Guy, Cormier said, “He loses again, you’re not losing to Justin Gaethje, Poirier, Oliveira, you’re losing to the next generation. You can not lose to the next generation of guys.”
Needless to say, Chandler himself is aware of how high the stakes are.
Chandler’s brutal plans Paddy ‘The Baddy’
After a long layoff and a tough loss to Oliveira at UFC 309, Chandler isn’t looking for an easy comeback—he’s embracing the challenge of testing a young, hungry contender in yet another five-round gorefest.
Speaking on The Ariel Helwani Show, Chandler made it clear just how serious he is. “This is Paddy’s opportunity to get inside the top 10,” he said.
“And it’s my opportunity to show there are levels to this sport”, added Chandler, explaining that there’s a good reason the lightweight division has been the most popular over the last decade or so.
While Chandler acknowledged Pimblett’s potential and fan appeal, he didn’t sugarcoat what’s coming.
“The pressure I’m going to put on him—it’s going to be different,” he said. Chandler expects Pimblett to move, kick, and try to stay unpredictable “because he knows when one of these hands lands, it’s going to be different than Bobby Green or Jordan Leavitt.”
And in classic Chandler fashion, he ended with a line that left no room for doubt: “I don’t need to hate Paddy Pimblett to absolutely eviscerate this man.”
