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Michael Chandler has expressed his respect and admiration for his UFC 268 opponent Justin Gaethje.
The pair will square off inside the octagon on November 6 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Ahead of the possible lightweight title eliminator, 'Iron' has lauded 'The Highlight'. The former Bellator champion told ESPN MMA's Brett Okamoto that if he had been just an MMA fan, his upcoming opponent would be one of his favorites.
"We've had very similar paths. Our fighting styles are very similar. I think his name was one of the first names that I said whenever I came into the UFC. I was excited to fight Justin Gaethje because I do truly respect him. If I was a fan and if I wasn't in the sport of mixed martial arts, he would be one of my favorite fighters. You know he's a guy that always comes. He's a promoter's dream and he's exactly what you want fighting inside your organization. So he was a huge pick up a couple of years ago, won the interim title and has fought for the title. I think it's gonna make for some fireworks on November 6."
Watch Michael Chandler in conversation with Brett Okamoto below:
Michael Chandler is 22-6 in his career so far, while Justin Gaethje holds a 22-3 record.
Justin Gaethje is the first fighter to claim post-fight bonuses in each of their first seven UFC bouts
Justin Gaethje is without a doubt one of the most entertaining fighters in the UFC. He won nine post-fight bonuses in his first seven UFC bouts. Five of those were Fight of the Night honors, while four were Performance of the Night bonuses.
'The Highlight' even won a round against Khabib Nurmagomedov on two judges' scorecards at UFC 254 in his most recent outing. Despite that, he lost via submission in the second round.
Justin Gaethje is a former interim UFC lightweight champion. He was also a 155-pound titleholder in the now-defunct World Series of Fighting (WSOF) MMA promotion, which has been turned into the Professional Fighters League (PFL).
