Michael Chandler


Michael Chandler Jr. is an American mixed martial artist fighting in the lightweight division of Bellator MMA, where he is a three-time Bellator Lightweight World Champion. He was also the winner of the. He is currently ranked as the #9 lightweight in the world by FightMatrix.com. He is ranked as the #7 lightweight in the world by 411mania.com. He was the 2011 Breakthrough Fighter of the Year. He was also rated by SportingNews.com as the #1 greatest fighter in Bellator history as of December 12, 2018. He holds notable victories over former UFC Lightweight Champions Benson Henderson and Eddie Alvarez.

Background

Chandler was born and raised in High Ridge, Missouri. He was born the second of four children to Michael Sr. and Betty Chandler. In high school, Chandler was on the honor roll every term, received three letters in football, and finished second at the Missouri State High School Championships his senior year for wrestling. He was voted the Most Valuable Wrestler during his senior season and was selected to the All-St. Louis Team.
Upon graduating from Northwest High School in 2004, Chandler enrolled at the University of Missouri, walking onto the school's wrestling squad. While at Missouri, Chandler was a four-time NCAA Division I qualifier, collected 100 career wins, as well as earning fifth place at NCAA's as a senior, earning DI All-American honors. Chandler earned runner-up honors in the 2008 and 2009 Big 12 Championships and was awarded automatic bids to three of the four NCAA Championships he competed in. Chandler compiled a 31-15 record against Big 12 opponents and a 100-40 overall record in his four years as a starter. He majored in personal finance management services with a minor in real estate.

Mixed martial arts career

Immediately after his wrestling career was over, Chandler began training mixed martial arts at Xtreme Couture. He opted out of competing as an amateur and in August 2009, Chandler made his professional MMA debut with a first-round TKO victory over Kyle Swadley.

Strikeforce

Chandler made his Strikeforce debut on November 20, 2009 at where he fought Richard Bouphanouvong, He won the bout via technical knockout in the second round.
His next fight in the promotion took place on May 15, 2010 at where he fought Sal Wood. He won the bout via submission in under a minute.

Bellator MMA

Chandler made his Bellator debut on September 30, 2010, at Bellator 31, where he defeated Scott Stapp via technical knockout in the first round. The match was contested at a catchweight for Chandler to test himself for the lightweight division, all his previous bouts being in the welterweight division.
In his next Bellator appearance, Chandler competed on the Bellator 32 card against Chris Page in a welterweight contest. He won the bout via submission in the first round.
In February 2011, it was announced that Chandler would be a part of the. In the opening round of the tournament, Chandler faced Marcin Held, at Bellator 36. He won the contest via technical submission after choking Held unconscious with an arm-triangle choke. The win moved Chandler into the semi-finals.
Chandler then faced Lloyd Woodard at Bellator 40 and won via unanimous decision to move onto the finals of the tournament.
The tournament final took place at Bellator 44 where Chandler faced Patricky Freire. He utilized his wrestling skills, repeatedly taking down Freire and controlling the fight. He defeated Freire via unanimous decision to win $100,000 and a shot at the Bellator Lightweight World Championship.

Lightweight Championship

Chandler was expected to compete against Eddie Alvarez for the Bellator Lightweight World Championship at Bellator 54. However, Alvarez suffered an undisclosed injury and forcing the bout to be postponed until a later date. The bout was then rescheduled to take place on November 19, 2011 at Bellator 58. Chandler defeated Eddie Alvarez via submission in the fourth round in an instant classic.
In his first fight after winning the title, Chandler faced Akihiro Gono in a non-title superfight at Bellator 67. He won the match via technical knockout at just 56 seconds into the first round.
Chandler made the first defense of his title against Bellator Season Six Lightweight Tournament Winner Rick Hawn, on January 17, 2013 at Bellator 85. He won the bout via submission in the second round.
Chandler was set to make his second defense against Bellator Season Seven Lightweight Tournament Winner Dave Jansen June 19, 2013 at. However, on June 2, it was announced that Jansen had pulled out of the bout due to an injury and faced David Rickels at instead. He won the bout via knockout in the first round.

Title loss and return

A rematch with Eddie Alvarez took place on November 2, 2013 in the main event of Bellator 106. He lost the match by split decision in another classic.
A third fight with Alvarez was set up for the main event of Bellator 120 on May 17, 2014. However, a week before the bout, it was announced that Alvarez had suffered a concussion and was forced to pull out of the fight. Chandler instead faced Will Brooks for the interim lightweight title. He lost the back-and-forth bout by split decision.
With Bellator Lightweight Champion Eddie Alvarez leaving the promotion, Chandler faced Will Brooks in a rematch on November 15, 2014 at Bellator 131 for the vacant lightweight title. He lost the bout via technical knockout in the fourth round.
Chandler faced Derek Campos on June 19, 2015 at Bellator 138. After a dominant start on the feet, including a knockdown, he won the match via submission in the first round.
Chandler rematched David Rickels on November 6, 2015 at Bellator 145. He won the bout via technical knockout in the second round.

Second title reign

On May 2016, Bellator MMA president Scott Coker announced that Chandler would rematch Patricky Freire on June 17, 2016, at Bellator 157, now for the vacant Bellator Lightweight Championship. He regained the title after knocking Freire out in the first round.
In his first title defense, Chandler faced former UFC Lightweight Champion Benson Henderson on November 19, 2016 in the main event of Bellator 165. He won the back-and-forth bout via split decision.
In his second title defense, Chandler faced Brent Primus on June 24, 2017 at Bellator NYC. In the first round, the bout was temporarily halted by the referee to check on Chandler, whose left ankle was visibly injured. The bout was stopped in favor of Primus via technical knockout, earning him the Bellator Lightweight Championship.

Post-title reign

Following the loss to Primus, Chandler remained out of action for the remainder of 2017. He made his return on January 20, 2018 at Bellator 192. on January 20, 2018 against Goiti Yamauchi. He won the fight by unanimous decision.
In a rematch, Chandler was expected to challenge Brent Primus for the Bellator Lightweight Championship on April 13, 2018 at Bellator 197. After Primus pulled out of the fight due to injury, Chandler faced Brandon Girtz on the same card. He won the fight via technical submission in the first round.
In late June 2018, reports surfaced that Chandler's contract with Bellator would expire imminently, making him a free agent. After testing free agency, it was announced on August 22, 2018, that Chandler had signed a new, exclusive multi-fight contract with Bellator MMA.

Third title reign

Chandler's anticipated rematch with Brent Primus took place on December 14, 2018, at Bellator 212. Chandler dominated the majority of the fight by out-wrestling Primus, ultimately defeating him by unanimous decision and regaining the Bellator Lightweight World title in the process.
In the first defense of his new title, Chandler faced Patrício Freire on May 11, 2019 in the main event of Bellator 221. He lost the fight via technical knockout in the first round.

After third title loss

On October 25, 2019, it was announced that Chandler would return to cage to rematch Benson Henderson at on December 29, 2019. However, Henderson was forced to withdraw from the bout citing an injury and was replaced by Sidney Outlaw in an 160 pounds catchweight bout. He defeated Outlaw via knockout in the first round.
A rematch with Benson Henderson was rescheduled to take place at Bellator 244 on June 6, 2020. However, the event was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and will now take place on August 21, 2020 at Bellator 243.

Personal life

Chandler started dating Brie Willett in 2013 after emailing for almost two years. Subsequently, they got married in 2014. They adopted a son in 2018.
Chandler owns Training Camp, a fitness and MMA gym in Nashville.

Championships and awards

Mixed martial arts

NCAA record

! colspan="8"| NCAA Championships Matches
! Res.
! Record
! Opponent
! Score
! Date
! Event
! style=background:white colspan=6 |2009 NCAA Championships 5th at 157 lbs
! style=background:white colspan=6 |2008 NCAA Championships at 157 lbs
! style=background:white colspan=6 |2007 NCAA Championships at 157 lbs
! style=background:white colspan=6 |2006 NCAA Championships at 157 lbs