Michael Chandler has now revealed that he was originally going to fight a top lightweight contender on June 14. However, that matchup didn’t come to fruition, and now Chandler is going to lock horns with the No. 9-ranked 155-pound contender Mauricio Ruffy at UFC Freedom 250.
Chandler had originally wanted to face Conor McGregor on June 14, but the UFC had other plans and was no longer interested in the matchup. “The Notorious” is now going to make his UFC return against Max Holloway at UFC 329, while Iron faces Ruffy, as mentioned above.
However, the UFC has something else planned for the 40-year-old, as “Iron” recently claimed.
During a recent sit-down with Megan Olivi, Michael Chandler revealed that he had accepted a fight against a top-five opponent. While Chandler did not disclose the fighter’s name, he said that the opponent would not be ready to compete on June 14. As a result, the UFC offered him a matchup against Mauricio Ruffy instead. He said:
“At the very beginning, there was a different opponent that I accepted. But he wasn’t able to compete at that time. He is inside the top 5. He wasn’t able to make it. They [UFC] said what do you think about Ruffy, I said ‘Of course.’”
Check out Michael Chandler’s comments below:
Which opponent is Michael Chandler talking about?
There is a very solid chance that Michael Chandler is talking about top lightweight contender, Arman Tsarukyan. Tsarukyan previously claimed that UFC had considered matching him up against Chandler.
However, according to the 29-year-old, those plans were later scrapped after the promotion realized he could be a difficult stylistic matchup for “Iron,” who is already on a three-fight losing streak and may be pushed toward retirement with another defeat. On the PBD Podcast, Tsarukyan had said:
“They called me about Michael Chandler. They wanted to match me up with Chandler, but then they realized it’s a bad fight for him. He represents them, and it’s like a 99.9% chance I beat him. So they went with Ruffy instead.”
Check out Arman Tsarukyan’s comments below:
Other than “Ahalkalakets,” all of the fighters in the top five (155 pounds) are either already booked for upcoming bouts or were highly unlikely to face Michael Chandler next.
Tsarukyan will serve as the backup fighter for the UFC Freedom 250 main event, which could be a reason why the promotion decided not to have him lock horns with Chandler on June 14.