Former three-time Bellator MMA lightweight champion Chandler fought out his contract with Round 1 KOs of Sidney Outlaw and Benson Henderson, and is now a free agent. During a recent appearance on MMA Junkie Radio, “Iron” said he was open to re-signing with Bellator, but above all wants to fight Justin Geathje.
That’s my favorite fight, said Chandler, as transcribed by Farah Hannoun for MMA Junkie. That one right there, because we’re gonna run sprints. I will have never sprinted towards anybody so fast in my entire life than I would Justin Gaethje. We’d meet right in the middle, we’d fight fire with fire. As he said, I love what he said because I was actually a fan of what he said, he said, ‘I want to go out there when I fight Khabib and create car crashes, I want to step in that cage and every single exchange is another car crash and we’re gonna find out who the better crash dummy is, who the tougher man, who’s the guy that’s willing to dig deeper.’
I think that is me. I think I’ve always been a better competitor than him. I was in wrestling, I am in mixed martial arts, I’m a fan of his style. I’m even a fan of him cleaning up his style a little bit and being a little bit more technical and diplomatic with his style. So I think the last Justin Gaethje that we saw against Tony Ferguson was the best Justin Gaethje we’ve ever seen, and I would love to face that Justin Gaethje, and I would love to mix it up with him.
That one right there I think would be, if I did finish him, would be late, late in the fifth, just like Eddie did. I believe it was Eddie, finished him late in the third or late in the fifth because Justin Gaethje does not go down quick. But that right there would probably be the most exciting fight in the entire lightweight division. That right there, Chandler vs. Gaethje, may be the greatest fight, the most exciting fight, that MMA fans have ever seen. Better than my fights with Eddie Alvarez, better than all the other fights that are in your top five. Chandler vs. Gaethje is the most exciting mixed martial arts fight of all time.
Chandler got a step closer to his dream at the UFC 252 post-fight press conference, when UFC president Dana White was asked about the new free agent.
I would love to meet with him, said White. Yah, the guy’s earned it, man. I would love to meet with him.
What do you think UG? Does the UFC sign Chandler? And how would a fight vs. Gaethje go?
