UFC lightweight Grant Lawson, ahead of his fight against Diego Ferreira has argued that Michael Chandler doesn’t belong in the top shelf of the UFC rankings. Chandler, a former Bellator lightweight champion with legendary fights (Eddie Alvarez) behind him, has had a rather disappointing journey in the UFC, having lost 4 out if his 6 fights in the promotion.
Speaking to Inside Fighting, Lawson highlights this and claims that it’s not just Chandler, there are other fighters on the roster, who should have no space in the Top 15, let alone Top 10 spots in the UFC rankings.
” If you look at somebody like Michael Chandler, he is 2-4 in the UFC. So if you put his record against my record, 11-1 in the UFC, assuming I beat Diego (Ferreira)… 11-1 in the UFC, compared to 2-4 in the UFC and you say, ‘yeah the 11-1 guy not ranked, the 2-4 guy ranked in the Top 10, Top 7’. Like, it doesn’t make any sense. “
Lawson also suggests that fighters like Beneil Dariush who have claimed to be near retirement should be taken out of contention as well. He argues that the UFC should not be waiting around for fighters like these. If someone makes a public statement about being done with the competition, Lawson recommends, they be shown the door from the rankings.
He even takes it a notch further and asserts that as soon a fighter claims their ambition is anything other than holding a world title, they need to be thrown out of the rankings with immediate effect.
“Then you have got these guys that are not looking to fight the up-and-comers. They need to take Michael Chandler out of there, they need to take… if Beneil Dariush loses (to Renato Moicano), he said that he’s probably going to be done if he loses… As soon as that fight is over, assuming that he loses, get him out of there.”
He’s not wrong, especially when it comes to Chandler.
The Chandler conundrum
Chandler is one of the most entertaining fighters in the lightweight division. There is no taking away from the fact that he draws a crowd, even if he fights a broomstick for 25 minutes. As a matter of fact, all his losses have come against former world champions. However, they have been losses, all the same.
Chandler’s only win in the last 5 fights came against Tony Ferguson, who is on an 8-fight losing streak. Not just that, after waiting and wasting two years on Conor McGregor and not trying to go for the title, Chandler looked seriously rusty against Charles Oliveira at UFC 309.
The only saving grace came in the last few minutes of the fight when he pulled off a WWE-like stunt, carried Oliveira on his back, and slammed him on the ground. It had little to no effect on the Brazilian and the result of the match. But it allowed him enough of a pop from the crowd to call out McGregor again for a fight.
Joe Rogan watching Michael Chandler stand up with Charles Oliveira on his back and slamming him on the floor twice: “He is one strong motherCHANDLER!!!”. In other news, Charles was so traumatised by Islam Makhachev, he did not even dare to call his name. UFC309 pic.twitter.com/CTGdTOPUnX
— PAM (@ParamPam1990) November 17, 2024
However, it is now being rumored that he will be trying his luck against lightweight prospect, Paddy Pimblett. Lawson believes this should be the last test for Chandler. He claims right now the UFC can argue he still belongs at the top of the rankings because all his opponents have been a class apart but if his losing streak extends to Pimblett, he should be pushed further down the food chain.
And at this point, it’s harder to argue against the sentiment.
