Michael Chandler Says He’s Putting His Legacy At Risk Fighting Will Brooks At Bellator 120
Last week Michael Chandler received devastating news just days out from the biggest fight of his career at Bellator 120 this Saturday (May 17, 2014).
Chandler found out that his planned bout had been changed and he would now have to fight Will Brooks at the event, which will be Bellator’s first on pay-per-view. This came after his scheduled trilogy against Eddie Alvarez for the promotions lightweight strap had to be cancelled due to the champ having to drop out after suffering a concussion in training.
According to Chandler, the man who took Avarez’s title in 2011 before losing it to him again two years later, there is always that possibility but he is thankful to still have the opportunity to compete on the promotions historic event:
“You know it’s always a possibility but immediately your heart sinks because you just put a ton of work in for a certain guy and he pulled out of the fight.” Chandler said on this weeks edition of ‘The MMA Hour‘. “Luckily for me, I still get to go out there and showcase my talents and put ‘em on the line against Will Brooks.”
The former Bellator champion seems to be taking the news in his stride now but he says things were different when he first heard the rumours of Alvarez being out as he was left in a kind of “limbo”. Chandler says it was something which he had to take out of his mind because he knew it was all going to work itself out.
“We all have those instances in life where you don’t know how something is going to play out. You think about it, you dwell on it, you go over all the scenarios in your head, and that’s kind of what I had to do for a couple hours.
Just try to keep my mind off of it, train, and just be at peace and know that’s it’s all going to get taken care of, it’s all going to work itself out, and you know, it did, it worked itself out exactly how it did.”
The news wasn’t just a loss for Chandler, however, it was also a huge setback for Bellator who have again lost one of the biggest stars in the lead up to a pay-per-view. The promotion had to cancel it’s original inaugural PPV for Bellator 108 when Tito Ortiz pulled out of the scheduled headliner against Quinton “Rampage” Jackson.
While Chandler accepts this is terrible for Bellator, he also thinks he is taking a major risk by accepting the fight with Brooks on such short notice.
“Obviously this is a big deal for Bellator,” said the former champion. “I think there’s certain instances in the past where guys were put in the same situation, and they didn’t go out there and take the fight with a completely different opponent on 6-7 days notice. It’s not necessarily the best-case scenario.
I was preparing for a certain guy; now I gotta fight a different guy, no matter what level he’s at, no matter who he is. So you’re putting yourself at risk, you’re putting my legacy at risk. But, I stepped up; I wasn’t going to back out. I know Bellator needed me, especially for this pay-per-view, so I’m doing it and you’ll see it next weekend.”
Regardless, Bellator’s inaugural PPV will go ahead as planned, sort of, this Saturday night at the Landers Center in Mississippi. Let’s just keep our fingers crossed that nothing else goes wrong.
