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Michael Chandler recently revealed the potential timeline for his next Octagon outing in the aftermath of his loss to Charles Oliveira at UFC 262. He stated that he expected to win the title fight against Oliveira and return to the ring in December or January.
The former Bellator champion had planned his next bout, keeping the upcoming trilogy fight between Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier in mind.
According to Michael Chandler, he would like to stick to the original schedule despite losing at UFC 262. Chandler told Jason Hartley from MMA On Point:
"You know, November earliest, December, maybe even January. I mean, I'm not getting any younger, obviously, but I still feel like I'm 25 years old. My body, athleticism, speed, power, all of that feels phenomenal. I feel like I can do this for a long time."
"So, obviously the stakes are high, the competition is high. No matter what, I'll step inside the cage with a top 5 guy by the end of the year. That will put me right back into that number 1 contender spot or a title eliminator type of scenario," Chandler added.
Michael Chandler weighs in on his next opponent
While Michael Chandler claims to have faced a drought of opponents after his UFC debut against Dan Hooker, 'Iron' is hopeful of finding competitors after his first loss in the organization.
When asked about potentially facing Justin Gaethje, Michael Chandler stated that he is ready to fight anyone in the top 5 of the UFC lightweight division. Chandler told Jason Hartley:
"I mean, I think they all make sense, to be honest. Anybody who's ranked ahead of me. Conor (McGregor) is the only guy who's behind me inside the top 5. But anybody who's in that 1, 2, 3 position after Charles. Obviously Gaethje, since his name has been thrown around a thousand times since I signed."
"And now that I have lost in the UFC, maybe people will actually say yes to fight me. You know, that was the tough thing that we were going through after signing with the UFC. Everybody either felt like they earned the right to say no to fight me cause I'm the new guy or they just didn't wanna fight me due to whatever reason," explained Chandler.
