UFC veteran Matt Brown has made the argument that UFC president Dana White should cut lightweight Michael Chandler.
“Iron” lost via first-round TKO to Mauricio Ruffy at UFC Freedom 250. It was Chandler’s fourth straight loss, dropping his UFC record to 2-6 overall with four straight losses. At age 40, it’s unlikely that Chandler, who was the former Bellator MMA lightweight champion, will ever make a run for the UFC lightweight title.
Since he is getting brutally finished now in his fights, one UFC vet believes it’s time that Chandler either hangs up his gloves — or White takes the decision away from his hands by outright cutting him.
Matt Brown Says UFC Should Cut Michael Chandler
Speaking on MMAFighting.com’s “The Fighter vs. The Writer” podcast, Brown made the argument that Chandler should either retire or get cut from the UFC after getting stopped in such a brutal fashion by Ruffy at the UFC White House card.
“With Michael Chandler, just his whole UFC run hasn’t been anything of note. The fact that he’s as big of a star as he is in the UFC, I like Michael Chandler, I’m not trying to knock him, I’m just looking at objective facts — he shouldn’t be the star that he is in the UFC. He’s won two fights in the UFC, 2-6 and how are you 2-6 and you’re as big of a star as him? It doesn’t really add up. He was great in Bellator. He had the great fights with Eddie Alvarez and there’s definitely a lot of potential in him. He hasn’t reached his potential,” Brown said.
“I would not get excited to see him fight again. If I’m Dana White, I either cut him or tell him you need to retire. If he wanted to keep fighting, I think he would probably fit in other organizations. I’d like to see him in bare-knuckle. I’d like to see him maybe in Gamebred MMA, the bare-knuckle stuff. I think there’s fun things for him to do. He’s clearly not a UFC level guy though at 2-6. You can’t do that.”
Michael Chandler Has Only Fought Killers
While Chandler’s UFC record of 2-6 is objectively poor on paper, you have to take a deeper dive into his record to really understand it.
If you look at the six defeats Chandler has had in the UFC, here’s the list:
- A decision loss to current UFC lightweight champion Justin Gaethje
- Two losses to former UFC lightweight champion and current BMF champion Charles Oliveira, one by stoppage and one by decision
- A submission loss to former interim UFC lightweight champion Dustin Poirier
- A TKO loss to top-ranked lightweight contender Paddy Pimblett
- Another TKO loss to rising lightweight star Mauricio Ruffy
Context is important when you look at fighters’ records in MMA, and Chandler is the perfect example of that. Yes, he has lost six times, including four stoppage defeats, but he has been fighting nothing but killers.
Chandler may ultimately be cut, as losing four straight fights is often a death sentence when it comes to one’s UFC career. But don’t be surprised if the UFC gives him one more chance.
Dana White Should Cut Michael Chandler, Argues UFC Veteran