Michael Chandler plans to re-sign with Bellator, but I beat Khabib Nurmagomedov '10 times out of 10'

Former champion Michael Chandler has some negotiating to do as the end of his current two-year deal with Bellator approaches.

Chandler (18-4 MMA, 15-4 BMMA) is coming off a first-round submission win over Brandon Girtz (15-8 MMA, 7-6 BMMA), whom he beat in this past Friday’s Bellator 197 headliner to make it two wins in a row since his much-discussed TKO title loss to Brent Primus. It was also the ex-lightweight champ’s 19th fight for Bellator, which has been his home since his fourth pro fight pro fight, back in 2010.

Chandler won’t say when exactly his deal ends – only that it’s “very soon.” And he’s very clear in that he’s not saying he’s going to be a free agent, either. All that he’s saying is that there are negotiations coming up – and that it’s an interesting time to have them.

“The lightweight division in the world is a very interesting one right now,” Chandler told MMAjunkie Radio. “There’s no doubt that I’m one of those guys who is continuing to climb. I think I had a couple of losses way, way back when. That’s when I came out of the top 10, and it’s been hard to kind of get back into the top 10. But, even with the rolled ankle at Madison Square Garden, I’ve gone on a run besides that fight, with all these wins over the last couple of years.

“So you can’t deny that I’m one of the top lightweights in the world. It’s exciting. It’s enticing. There are a lot of great fights in the lightweight division, and I want to see what happens next.”

Chandler, an honorable mention in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA lightweight rankings, clarifies that he is “very happy” with his career, with where he’s at, and with what he’s doing. He believes Bellator has done right by him, and he’s done the same for them in return. While he’s had his complaints about activity in the past – and certainly didn’t love fighting only once in 2017 – he doesn’t think it’s Bellator’s fault and instead pins it mostly on champ Primus for putting off the rematch.

As far as roster depth goes, Chandler has seen exponential growth over the past eight years, as exemplified by the signings of prospects such as Aaron Pico and A.J. McKee – and even high-profile UFC migrations such as Josh Thomson and ex-UFC champ Benson Henderson. And he’s always had the liberty of calling the Bellator brass and asking them to bring in some competition for him.

“I have no intentions of leaving Bellator,” Chandler said.

If the ex-champ were to make a move, though, there’s pretty much only one place other than Bellator that would interest him.

“We’ll see what happens, but to me, I don’t think there would be any other interest for me to go anywhere else besides Bellator or the UFC,” Chandler said. “Obviously, I’m very happy with where I’m at right now. But there’s not a day that goes by that I don’t constantly think about this career that I have moving forward.”

OK, but humor us here for a second: Say he were to consider a move to the UFC, is Chandler enticed by the competition in a division that is now ruled by undefeated champ Khabib Nurmagomedov (26-0 MMA, 10-0 UFC)?

“That’s the thing: From the outside perspective, people always think, ‘Bellator, UFC, ONE FC, blah blah blah,’” Chandler said. “I don’t think about promotions, I think about the guys. How do I match up against Khabib? How do I take exactly what Al Iaquinta did, except with my wrestling, and my striking, and my wrestling offense and defense.

“How I would nullify his takedowns, how I would even take him down, how I would get in his face, and how he would finally have somebody put hands on him and hurt him like Michael Johnson did? I think that picture has been painted a couple of times, of how to beat Khabib. And I think I beat him 10 times out of 10.”

As for the future, should he stay with Bellator? There are a few scenarios. Chandler has talked about his desire to pursue “exciting” fights outside the 155-pound division, against the likes of Paul Daley and welterweight champ Rory MacDonald, and that remains a possiblity.

Reclaiming the 155-pound belt, as he’s said in the past, is not a priority. And Chandler still isn’t about to run for president of Primus’ fan club. But as much as Chandler himself isn’t exactly holding his breath, it’s hard to take a title rematch off the table there entirely.

And then there’s “Pitbull” Freire – featherweight champ Patricio, that is, considering Chandler has beaten his lightweight brother Patricky twice and is not interested in meeting him “ever again.”

Patricio and Chandler have had their disagreements as to why exactly they weren’t the ones meeting inside that cage this past Friday. But Chandler, who said he got as far as signing the bout agreement and training for that specific opponent before he was told Freire had turned it down, is willing to give it a new try.

“(Patricio Freire) had his very choice words about me and my family, and he’s a very angry little elf,” Chandler said. “So I’d love to make that fight happen, because that’s a fight that fans want to see.”

To hear from Chandler, check out the video above.

And for complete coverage of Bellator 197, check out the MMA Events section of the site.

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