Michael Chandler has been in nothing but action-packed fights since joining the UFC—even if his record doesn’t show it. While fans love his go-for-broke style, not everyone’s buying into the hype.
The former three-time Bellator lightweight champ is 2-5 in the UFC. In his latest fight at UFC 314, Chandler lost via third-round TKO to Paddy “The Baddy” Pimblett.
Ex-UFC Star Calls Out MMA Fans for Michael Chandler Craze
In seven fights in the UFC, Chandler has won post-fight bonuses in five of them. In the two in which he didn’t win a bonus, Chandler’s opponents received Performance of the Night bonuses. The kill-or-be-killed fighting style Chandler has displayed has entertained the fans, but Corey Anderson thinks the attention is unwarranted.
Anderson, a former UFC light heavyweight title contender, shared his feelings on the matter on X: “MMA fans today will call GSP [Georges St-Pierre] boring and scream GOAT every time Chandler fights…lol Make it make sense. Bring back real fight fans,” the 35-year-old wrote.
MMA fans today will call GSP boring and scream GOAT every time Chandler fights… lol Make it make sense. 😂Bring back real fight fans. #mma #fighting
— Corey 'Overtime' Anderson (@CoreyA_MMA) April 21, 2025
For context, St-Pierre, one of the GOATs of MMA, has won most of his fights in the UFC via unanimous decision. Though he has won his fair share of Fight of the Night bonuses, the Canadian fighters often took the easiest path to victory, which likely won’t have fans at the end of their seats.
Therefore, the majority of fight fans who want to see blood-and-guts war tend to gravitate toward fighters like Chandler, as mentioned by Anderson, who also has a lot of unanimous decision victories in his UFC résumé.
During his UFC run, Anderson defeated notable names like Jan Błachowicz and Johnny Walker. Currently signed with the PFL, Anderson achieved his best success with the now-defunct Bellator MMA, where he was the light heavyweight champion.
UFC Legend Urges Chandler To Retire
Despite being on a three-fight losing streak, UFC CEO Dana White is not critical of Chandler’s future in the promotion. In the post-fight press conference of UFC 314, White even hailed Chandler as the UFC’s Arturo Gatti.
Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson has an entirely different view of Chandler. Breaking down Chandler’s fight at UFC 314 on his YouTube channel, the UFC legend urged Chandler to retire.
“If I was in Michael Chandler’s camp, I was like, ‘Let’s just hang ’em up, baby.’ You got enough money. If you got enough zeros in the bank, we’ve had our run at the UFC. Are we just here to take damage and be, you know, what are we here for? What are you doing it for, right?” Johnson said.
After retiring from the sport, Johnson has been active, competing in IBJFF tournaments. Therefore, he advised “Iron” to take a similar approach if the competitive drive is still inside him.