Michael Chandler Insists He Has ‘Keys’ To Beating Khabib

Michael Chandler

Michael Chandler secured a decision win over Brent Primus (watch highlights here) in the main event of last night’s (Fri., December 14, 2018) Bellator 212 from the Neal S. Blaisdell Center in Honolulu, Hawaii. Now, Chandler says he has the keys to solving the toughest lightweight puzzle in the world.

With his victory, he became the first Bellator fighter with three championship reigns in one weight class. The victory ended a rivalry (for now) that dated back to their first meeting at June 2017’s Bellator 180. Chandler badly injured his foot in the first round of their first match-up. He lost the fight by TKO as a result.

Since then, Primus had remained inactive while Chandler won two bouts in that span. Bellator’s top company man finally got his title back by outlasting Primus over the course of five rounds. Now, he’s shifting his gaze to bigger contests.

Much, much bigger, but this one may not be attainable for him right now. After his win over Primus, Chandler told reporters via MMA Fighting he has one name in mind if he could pick. That fighter is UFC lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov:

“Khabib. I mean, I think. I think if we’re talking regardless of organization, Khabib’s the number one guy in the world. And I’m always wanting to fight the number one guy in the world. And I don’t just say that because because he’s the number one guy in the world. I think, as we saw tonight, I can do that to anybody in the entire world, I think.”

Chandler made a point not to state he was calling out Khabib, however. He was only asking a reporter’s question:

“But, you know, it’s tough. I kinda put myself in a predicament when I say Khabib because people are like, ‘Why are you calling out Khabib?’ when really it was a reporter asking me who I wanted to fight. I’m not out here calling out Khabib.”

He may not be calling “The Eagle” out, but he does think he has the keys to solve the undefeated UFC champ’s attack:

“But I do think I hold the keys to that lock, that puzzle, that a lot of people can’t solve.”