Former three-time Bellator MMA lightweight champion Michael Chandler was Octagonside, serving as an alternate, when lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov successfully defended his title vs. Justin Gaethje in the main event of UFC 254. It was widely believed that “The Eagle” intended to fight one more time, ideally vs. welterweight GOAT Georges St-Pierre, and retire at 30-0. 

However, Nurmagomedov explained that he promised his mother this was his last fight, and announced his retirement. Chandler spoke with The Schmo after the event, and detailed what he wants next.

The main event did not go how I thought it was gonna go, and we now have Khabib retiring at 29-0, said Chandler. We all thought he was gonna hang on until 30-0. Kinda threw us all for a loop so we’ll see what happens.

When Khabib did retire, you could kinda tell [UFC President Dana White] didn’t have any idea and I think nobody had any idea. I didn’t either, but if you really think about what Khabib has gone through, you didn’t just lose your dad, your coach, your mentor, your hero, the being that you look up to here on Earth. He lost everything in that man when he lost his father a couple months ago. The pressure, the weight that he must have felt, as Dana said, we were very lucky to watch him compete one more time tonight, let alone ever again.

I think the consensus was all of us thought he would fight this fight and one more fight but when he made a vow, he said my word is my word and he put it away, and put his gloves in the middle of the Octagon. I think Dana was just as surprised as everyone else but I know it puts me in a really nice, interesting situation coming right into the organization and we have a vacant lightweight title.

There’s a lot of different options right now. I think with the way the landscape looked – you had Gaethje and Khabib with Khabib as the lightweight champion after tonight – I was thinking Tony Ferguson. But now you’ve got Jon Anik and Justin Gaethje talking after the fight. Gaethje is a gamer. Justin Gaethje is one of the greatest competitors that we will ever get to see grace the Octagon … he said he’s ready in six to eight weeks, he’s ready to fight again. He didn’t take that much damage in this fight which is great. I’m ready in six to eight weeks, he’s ready in six to eight weeks, there’s a Tony Ferguson fight, there is The Ultimate Fighter coming up, I know that’s gonna be a big debut for ESPN. Culminating in a lightweight title shot seems like nonstop action for ESPN so I would love to be a part of that as well. So we’ll see what happens.

At this point, with the way everything changed tonight, I think a fight with Justin Gaethje has always excited me more than anybody in the entire division. More than Conor or Khabib, even though the mystique of beating Khabib and taking his 0 is something special, or fighting Conor on the highest-grossing card of the year and making the most money, the red panty night as he likes to call it. Those are all wonderful but when it comes to just straight competitor versus competitor, hand to hand combat, mano a mano, small-town blue-collar American wrestler versus small-town American blue-collar wrestler, that’s me and Justin Gaethje stepping into the cage against each other, so that’s exciting to me.

h/t Jed Meshew for MMA Fighting