“You’re fighting for your life” – Michael Chandler refuses to apologize for his alleged fish hooking incident with Dustin Poirier
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Michael Chandler (L) talks about the fish hooking incident with Dustin Poirier (R)
When Michael Chandler entered the UFC, he was already a tried and tested veteran of Bellator, having gone to battle many a time. Additionally, he was also a three time lightweight champion.
His career in the UFC, so far, has fallen short of the expectations laden on him. In his debut fight against Dan Hooker, he TKO’d the Kiwi in the very first round, and already, people started asking the obvious question of him – could he be a champion in the UFC as well? That was not to be the case. Despite the scintillation KO finish of Tony Ferguson, he has since lost to Charles Oliveira, Justin Gaethje and most recently, Dustin Poirier, who submitted him in the last round.
However, it gets worse for Chandler – Poirier accused the ex-Bellator man of fish-hooking him in the second round to get under his chin. Upon replay footage, that did appear to be the case. Speaking about it to Ariel Helwani, Chandler said, “People think that we’re in there making decisions like me making the decision to pick up this pen. It’s not the same when you’re actually inside the confines of MMA and you’re fighting for your life.”
Continuing, he said, “I take a guy’s back, reach down, grab the chin, lift the chin, and then go for the choke. So yes, do I think I need to apologize? I don’t think I do.” These are very strong words from Michael Chandler, who remains defiant in the face of criticism.
Despite intense scrutiny after the Dustin Poirier fight, Michael Chandler insists he is not a cheat
Michael Chandler is one of the most cheerful fighters in the UFC. When not brawling with other fighters, he usually takes to his social media accounts to spread the word of positivity. Who better to preach that, than someone who earns their bread through violence, and knows how to channel the positivity, even when in the depths? And, fans definitely appreciate him for that.
However, the recent fish hooking scandal has really pitted the MMA community against him. Testifying to him being a clean fighter, he said, “I don’t cheat to win… This one was just unfortunate circumstances and a chain of events that I wish didn’t happen, but they did, and also, that’s why we have referees there.”
Continuing, he said, “But yeah, it doesn’t feel good. I don’t like to hear that, because, whatever, there are going to be people that say things no matter what, be accused of things win, lose or draw.” Despite the scrutiny, Michael Chandler’s transparency and never say die attitude might just pull him out of this, and get him en route to his next fight, which might just be against Conor McGregor. Whatever be the case, MMA fans should consider themselves lucky to be able to witness a juggernaut like Chandler, who puts it all out there in the cage, each time he fights.
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Udayan Mukherjee
(382 Articles Published)