Michael Chandler: Shocking UFC News
Bellator Fighting Championships today confirmed the addition of undefeated Bellator veteran Michael Chandler to its upcoming Season 4 Lightweight Tournament, airing live on MTV2 starting March 5th.
With a pair of impressive wins under the Bellator banner in 2010, Chandler’s opponents have never made past the second round, as the Missouri native is a perfect 5-0 in his professional career with all of his victories coming by way of (T)KO or submission.
“Mike was very impressive at Bellator 31 and 32, finishing both opponents in the first round. He’s got extreme strength and power for a Lightweight and I’m excited to see how far he can go in this tournament,” said Bellator Chairman and CEO Bjorn Rebney.
Training alongside UFC lightweight title challenger Gray Maynard and Bellator welterweight Jay Hieron at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas, the former Division I All American is ready to break the mold of many wrestlers who have transitioned to MMA.
“I never want to be known as the typical “lay and pray” wrestler,” said Chandler. “I want to break away from the traditional wrestling mold that a lot of guys have. People say that all wrestlers just want to take their opponents down and lay on them for three rounds, but I want to go out there and finish them. I don’t want to just go out there and win, I want to go out there and dominate.”
Undefeated at 5-0, Chandler has been completely dominant up to this point in his career, and will look to continue his impressive run when the Bellator Season 4 Lightweight Tournament kicks off in March.
Not only is a huge $100,000 payday on the line for the fast-rising 24-year-old lightweight, but the chance to face current Bellator Lightweight Champion Eddie Alvarez has been Chandler’s goal since the day he signed with Bellator.
“I’ve had my eyes set on capturing that Bellator World Lightweight Championship since the moment I signed with Bellator,” Chandler said. “It’s not to take away from anybody or that I just think I’m going to smash all of these guys on my way to [Eddie] Alvarez, it’s just that I’m really excited about the journey I’m about to go through. I’m excited about the next three months of training, and I’m excited about being able to go out there and dominate fight after fight. This is the opportunity of a lifetime in a young fighter’s career.”
Chandler joins Carey Vanier and “Razor” Rob McCullough as the other confirmed participants in the Lightweight Tournament scheduled to air live on MTV2.