Michael Chandler announces launch of fight camp

Former Bellator lightweight champion Michael Chandler, one of the newer additions to the UFC roster, has announced that he’s starting fight camp.

Chandler signed with the UFC in the fall, and was was immediately slated as the understudy for the UFC 254-headlining lightweight title fight between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Justin Gaethje. In the end, both Nurmagomedov and Gaethje made it to the Octagon that night, which meant Chandler’s services weren’t needed, and his UFC debut was put on ice.

While the details of his UFC debut are still a complete mystery, Chandler announced the beginning of his 28th fight camp on Monday morning.

 

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“Locked and loaded,” Chandler wrote on Instagram on Monday. “Camp number 28 starts today. See you at the top!”

Despite this announcement from Chandler, UFC President Dana White recently claimed that there’s currently nothing in the pipeline for the former Bellator lightweight champion.

“The problem with Michael Chandler right now is he stepped up for that [Nurmagomedov vs. Gaethje] fight and he cut weight, so he can’t turn around as fast as these other guys can right now. We can’t do that to him,” White said after UFC Vegas 15. “So, no hurry, take his time, get his body back together. We’ll get him something soon.

“Once we go back to Abu Dhabi there’s going to be a lot of big fights coming up here, so he’ll be a part of something,” White added, suggesting Chandler will debut on Fight Island.

Michael Chandler is currently on a two-fight streak, having scored first-round knockout wins over Sidney Outlaw and Benson Henderson in his final two Bellator fights. His last loss occurred in May, 2019, when he surrendered the Bellator lightweight strap to Patricio Freire via controversial first-round TKO.

What do you think Chandler is preparing for?