“I think wrestling beats everything, I think it beats Sambo,” Michael Chandler responds to Islam Makhachev’s callout at UFC Vegas 31
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Michael Chandler and Islam Makhachev
The Dagestani Lightweight fighter, Islam Makhachev improved his winning streak to eight straight wins with a win against the number 14th ranked Lightweight fighter, Thiago Moises in the main event of UFC Vegas 31.
After his win, Makhachev called out almost everybody in the Lightweight division that is ranked above him, but he took a special interest in calling out the former Lightweight contender and Bellator Lightweight champion, Michael Chandler who was serving as an analyst for UFC Vegas 31 on ESPN.
While Islam Makhachev was on backstage he says, “I see here Michael Chandler, why not? Let’s go Chandler, You come for an easy fight in the UFC? No, you come from Bellator, we want to give you a hard time. Let’s do this. Chandler, if you hear me, let’s do this. You come from Bellator, I want to check your skills.”
Michael Chandler couldn’t do anything then smiling and complimenting Makhachev for this dominating victory over Moises. He says, “Slick little call out right there,”
“He did what he said he was going to do tonight and he did what he needed to do tonight, which was go out there and put a big stamp on his performance. Now he’s doing what he needs to do as well. He’s sitting at No. 9, he wants to say as many names as he possibly can. Slick little call out.”
Chandler continued, “The man impressed tonight. I’ve got to take my fighter hat off, be the analyst tonight, he did a phenomenal job against a very tough man. Kid’s got a bright future, we’ll see what happens.” {H/T MMA Fighting}
Chandler believes his wrestling gives him an edge over fighters like Islam Makhachev
Chandler made an impact on his UFC debut by knocking out Dan Hooker at UFC 257 and after that, he faced Oliveira for the vacant Lightweight title. Although, he lost that fight but he believes his wrestling background gives him an edge over the fighters like Islam Makhachev.
Michael Chandler added, “I’m a homer when it comes to wrestling, I think wrestling beats everything. I think wrestling beats judo, [Brazilian jiu-jitsu], I think it beats sambo but that’s just me being a homer. But what Islam Makhachev does is he gets you to these positions and he puts you in a position where you can’t really move.”
“Thiago Moises has phenomenal chain grappling. We’ve seen him go all over the place, up, down, do flips, roll, sweep. He wasn’t able to do a lot of those things. The thing that Islam does best is he neutralizes guys. When you neutralize a guy, it’s not just physical. It’s mental. It’s emotional. It’s cardio. He sucks the life out of guys.”
Chandler concluded, “Can he push the pace for that long? He showed tonight he can get a finish later in the rounds. I think wrestling beats sambo. I think wrestling beats every other ground martial art. Maybe someday we’ll see.”
“Khabib said he thinks he’s the future of the division, so only time will tell. Either way, the man’s got a bright future.” {H/T MMA Fighting}
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Shivansh Thakur
(1173 Articles Published)