Bellator champ Michael Chandler focused on Thomson but 'would love' MacDonald at 170

At this point, Bellator champion Michael Chandler has made it bundantly clear that he wants to fight Josh Thomson.

The two were supposed to meet this past May, but an injury forced Thomson (22-8 MMA, 2-0 BMMA) to withdraw two weeks before their Bellator 154 appointment. Chandler (16-3 MMA, 13-3 BMMA) went on to fight twice more, taking the vacant 155-pound belt with a knockout win over Patricky Freire and defending it with a split call over former UFC champ Benson Henderson.

Speaking to MMAjunkie Radio, Chandler reiterated that Thomson – who didn’t fight for the duration of 2016 – is next in line. But, before agreeing to the bout, he has a few conditions of his own.

“I want to fight (Thomson) next,” Chandler said. “My only stipulation is that I’m not doing it in San Jose (Thomson’s hometown). I’ll do it anywhere else in the world.

“All I know is, when that fight gets announced, I’m not signing on the dotted line until they tell me, ‘OK, here’s your backup opponent, and here’s your date, and you’ll fight this guy when Josh gets hurt.'”

Chandler doesn’t know who exactly that backup opponent would be, other than “a decent name” who made sense. But while we’re talking about possible competition in the Bellator roster, the champ has put some thought into a stab at the 170-pound division.

And, with a target already in mind, he’s not even that worried about those extra 15 pounds.

“I think he needs to come in and get a win, but I would love the Rory MacDonald fight,” Chandler said. “He’s a tall drink of water.”

“Benson fought at 170. He’s not a big 170-pounder, but he fought at both weight classes with success at both weight classes. So I don’t know. To me, it’s just another guy. I train with 170-pounders all the time at the gym, so to me it’s all the same. I’m walking around at 185, 190 (pounds), so I wouldn’t be a tiny welterweight, but I would be fast. Frankie Edgar-esque.”

Since he’s already thinking of a foray on the upper weight class, why not go for welterweight titleholder Douglas Lima and aim for a dual championships instead?

“Because the Rory fight is a bigger fight, I think,” Chandler said. “You wait for Rory to beat Lima, and then you make history.”

Future aspirations aside, Chandler still has Thomson as a No. 1 priority on his hit list. Not only because of their “unfinished business,” but also because he doesn’t see his 38-year-old target going on for much longer.

“I don’t think Josh has that many more years left in the sport, ” Chandler said. “I want that fight, so that fight needs to happen sooner than later. He’s getting up there (in cage). So I think it’s smarter for me to take that fight right now.

“But I want to see Rory come in and do well, and if he fights for the title first or if he doesn’t fight for the title first, we’ll see, but I don’t know.”

For more on Bellator’s upcoming schedule, check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.

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