5 memorable Michael Chandler finishes outside the UFC

#4. Michael Chandler vs. David Rickels 1 – Bellator 97

Michael Chandler won the Bellator lightweight title in 2011 and followed it up with a successful title defense against Rick Hawn over a year later. In his next outing, he was eyeing a second defense of his belt when he took on David Rickels in the main event of Bellator 97.

Chandler utilized his typical marauding style to put Rickels on the backfoot right from the get-go, peppering him with power hooks to the body to push him into the fence.

In one of the fastest title defenses you'll ever see, Chandler put Rickels to sleep with a powerful left hook just 44 seconds into the bout to retain his lightweight championship. In his rematch with the same opponent two years after their first encounter, 'Iron' secured a second-round TKO win.

Watch Michael Chandler's 44-second knockout of David Rickels below:

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#3. Michael Chandler vs. Sidney Outlaw – Bellator 237

In 2019, Bellator debuted in Japan and put on a sensational cross-promotion event with Japanese MMA organization Rizin Fighting Federation. The event was held at the historic Saitama Super Arena and was headlined by a monumental clash between heavyweight legends Fedor Emilianenko and Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson.

In the co-main event, Michael Chandler took on Sidney Outlaw.

Chandler was coming off a disappointing loss in a championship fight. Eager to return to title contention, 'Iron' was looking to redeem himself when he squared off against Outlaw at Bellator 237 in Japan.

The bout started off relatively slow compared to Chandler's other fights. He was clearly wary of Outlaw's renowned submission threat and wisely didn't attempt any takedowns. With one second to go in the third minute of the fight, the former three-time champion landed a thunderous overhand right, which effectively ended the bout.

This turned out to be the penultimate bout of Michael Chandler's Bellator run. His next fight was the previously discussed rematch with Benson Henderson, which turned out to be his last appearance in the Scott Coker-led promotion.

Watch the full fight below: