“Put a couple more people in front of me, I’m going to knock them all down,” Michael Chandler talks about his match against Khabib Nurmagomedov

“Put a couple more people in front of me, I’m going to knock them all down,” Michael Chandler talks about his match against Khabib Nurmagomedov

Khabib Nurmagomedov and Michael Chandler

The former three times Bellator Lightweight champion Michael Chandler made an impact on his UFC debut by knocking out Dan Hooker in the very first round of their fight. With this win, Chandler has his eyes on the gold already.

While Chandler and his team are measuring his future opponents, he hopes that in the upcoming time he can convince Khabib Nurmagomedov to came out of retirement and face him. In his latest interview with MMA Fighting, Chandler says,

“I think he’s got unfinished business, I think 29-0 is not enough for him. He wants 30-0 but it’s got to be the right challenge. That really is kind of an interesting aspect. He’s already beaten Justin Gaethje. He’s already beaten, Conor McGregor.”

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“He’s already beaten, Dustin Poirier. He’s already beaten essentially everyone in the top-five aside from me and Charles Oliveira. I do think my body of work speaks to that, I do think that my wrestling background speaks to that.”

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“I do think that my resume of almost 50/50 when it comes to knockouts and submissions, top control, damage, and submission game, that I bring to the table, but I’ve got to go out and beat whoever they put in front of me.”

“Whether it’s for the title or not, then I’ve got to win the title, maybe defend it once, show that I can knock people out. Show that I can grapple and wrestle people, wrestle with the best of them and I think showing that complete fighter will be enough to entice Khabib to come out and try in his quest for 30-0. But I have a sneaky suspicion that he will end up 29-and-Chandler.”

Chandler doesn’t see Charles Oliveira posing any threat to Khabib

Michael Chandler

One untested fighter who is eager for Khabib to make his comeback is Charles Oliveira. Oliveira showed his excellent ground skills in the fight against Tony Ferguson but Michael Chandler doesn’t believe he possesses any threat to ‘The Eagle’.

Chandler added, “The only question I would pose about Charles Oliveira is he’s not a large 155’er, He’s not a very powerful guy. He’s not a very physically strong guy or overly athletically gifted guy. I like Charles Oliveira’s style in the fact that he trots forward, his striking has gotten better, he’s extremely slick with his jiu-jitsu.”

“But when you talk about Khabib, when you talk about the strongest guy in the division, the strongest wrestler, the strongest grappler, the strongest submission artist you’ve seen in the last Justin Gaethje fight plus the guy isn’t afraid to come forward into a firefight, these are all the questions that needed to be answered when you talk about Khabib.”

“Is there anybody that can match the strength, match the power, athleticism wise, body awareness wise, plus the cardio, plus the tenacity to be able to go into the deep waters. Get taken down, get back up. Take him down and he gets back up.”

“Just this constant grind match of a 25-minute championship level fight in the unified rules of mixed martial arts. I don’t think Charles Oliveira has that physically.”

“It’s just going to take some time, Put a couple more people in front of me, I’m going to knock them all down and keep calling him out. If he comes out of retirement, he can go for that 30-0 and that question can be answered. I may be wrong but I think I’m right.”

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