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Michael Chandler has proven to be one of the most exciting fighters in the UFC. He recently fought and lost via submission to Dustin Poirier at UFC 281 in a barnburner of a fight.
Even after being defeated, 'Iron' seldom faces a shortage of potential opponents.
During his post-fight press conference at UFC 281, Chandler mentioned that he would be open to a third fight with Eddie Alvarez should the former UFC lightweight champion return to the promotion:
“Eddie and I have got some history. Eddie and I have made some magic in there. Eddie was a former UFC champion. I would love to see him come back here and get thrown back into the mix. There ain’t no way that he and I are not fighting if he comes to the UFC. So, I love the idea of that fight.”
UFC President Dana White was also asked whether he’d bring the former lightweight champion back to the promotion. Although White wasn’t opposed to the idea of booking Alvarez vs. Chandler 3, he alluded to the kind of fighters the promotion is currently looking for:
“Eddie hit me up a couple days ago, but no, we haven’t had any serious conversations... You know, I think that Eddie is at a point in his career where you know, we’re always trying to bring in young up-and-coming guys that hopefully could be world champions some day.”
‘Iron’ and ‘The Underground King’ competed in what many believe to be the greatest fight in Bellator history when they fought at Bellator 58 in 2011. It was a wild back-and-forth bout that saw 'Iron' submit Alvarez with a rear-naked choke in the fourth round to become the new Bellator lightweight champion.
They competed in a rematch in 2013, but this time Alvarez got his hand raised via split decision.
Check out the full UFC 281 post-fight press conference:
Will fans see the Eddie Alvarez vs. Michael Chandler trilogy in the UFC?
Based on what transpired in both their bouts at Bellator, an Eddie Alvarez-Michael Chandler trilogy would be quite lucrative for the UFC. ‘The Underground King’ is currently a free agent, so it wouldn’t be too difficult to book either.
It’s important to note that Alvarez will need to re-enter the USADA testing pool for six months if he returns to the promotion. In the meantime, Chandler could choose to compete again or take a six-month layoff and recover from his recent loss to Dustin Poirier.
The UFC haven’t been opposed to booking trilogies for bouts that took place elsewhere. The most recent example is Israel Adesanya vs. Alex Pereira, who fought in two kickboxing bouts prior to competing for a third time at UFC 281. It was an appealing matchup and sold out Madison Square Garden.
