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Michael Chandler has been the talk of the UFC world ever since he signed with the promotion from Bellator. Chandler served as a back-up fighter for the UFC 254 main event between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Justin Gaethje, but his services weren't needed despite successfully making weight.
A lot of people, including UFC's top lightweights, have questioned the promotion trying to book him against high-ranked fighters in what many consider the most elite weight division in MMA today.
While a few options emerged, one name that seemed realistic as Michael Chandler's first UFC opponent was Tony Ferguson - who had just missed out on getting a fight against Dustin Poirier booked.
Tony Ferguson was unhappy about it and was another big name that questioned Michael Chandler's ability to fight in the UFC lightweight division. UFC President Dana White, however, feels that there's no hurry to debut Michael Chandler. He explained in the post-fight press conference of UFC Vegas 15 why Chandler can't debut just yet:
“The problem with Michael Chandler right now is he stepped up for that fight and he cut weight, so he can’t turn around as fast as these other guys can right now. We can’t do that to him,” he said. “So, no hurry, take his time, get his body back together. We’ll get him something soon.”
Dana White says that once the UFC returns to Abu Dhabi for Fight Island, a fight for Michael Chandler can be expected:
“Once we go back to Abu Dhabi there’s going to be a lot of big fights coming up here, so he’ll be a part of something,” he stated.
Who will Michael Chandler face in his UFC debut?
The lightweight division is in an interesting state as always, so Michael Chandler has entered at an interesting time. In the top half, Khabib Nurmagomedov's status as the lightweight king remains in question after he vowed to retire. However, Dana White insists that the Russian will be back to get a perfect 30-0 record.
Tony Ferguson is set to face Charles Oliveira in the UFC 256 co-main event while Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier will meet in the main event of UFC 257. While Justin Gaethje doesn't have a fight booked yet, #5 ranked Dan Hooker stated his interest in facing the former interim champion next.
It'll be interesting to see who Michael Chandler faces in 2021, but it wouldn't be surprising to see him fight a non-top 5 contender. One could even argue that it would be better to debut Michael Chandler outside of the top 5.
