SAITAMA – Former Bellator lightweight champion Michael Chandler bounced back from his title defeat to Patricio Freire in style as he produced a one-shot KO of Sidney Outlaw at Bellator 237 in Japan, then said he won’t sit around waiting for another shot at the belt.
Three-time Bellator champ Chandler (20-5, 17-5 BMMA) produced a near-punch-perfect performance to stop Outlaw in the first round as he went to work on his opponent’s body early, then switched targets to the head to score an eye-catching knockout.
And, speaking backstage to reporters, including MMA Junkie, after the fight, Chandler said he was happy to show his ability to bounce back with a decisive victory.
“That’s the thing, man. You just gotta hop back on that horse,” he said. I let that first string of losses really get to my head and kinda thought the whole world was ending, and the older you get the more you realize this sport is full of ups and downs and you can learn so much from a loss… there’s so much freedom that comes with a loss.
“It all depends on how you bounce off the bottom. I bounced off the canvas my last fight, but it just so happens I was able to hop in the cage and make another guy bounce off the canvas. That’s the game, man. It’s a game of inches.”
Like his fellow Bellator veterans who competed on the card, Chandler loved the experience of fighting in Japan, and said he made a conscious effort to take in as much of the atmosphere as he could while still keeping his focus on the job at hand.
“Here I am, 10 years in the sport, just fought in the Mecca of MMA and this was an awesome experience. This was really cool,” he enthused. “It’s almost unfortunate that you don’t get to enjoy it as much as you should because you can’t be as present as you want to be. But I tried to be as present as I possibly could be and enjoy this experience.”
As for the fight itself, Chandler said his tactic of investing in the body early to open up the head paid dividends as he landed a huge right hand for the win.
“Get to the body, be fast, be in and out, and that’s what we were doing,” he said. “We were making some debits to the body. That paid off later and he thought I was going to the body, (and I) came to the head and then finished him.
“It’s always a surprise (when you get a KO). It’s so crazy as an outsider you look at a fight and you think it looks predictable because it almost looks choreographed because sometimes things just work out so perfectly. This worked out perfectly, but we were doing damage to the body. I think he thought we were going to the body and then (I) went to the head. I was starting to set up some leg kick stuff, some of the ups and downs. Some of the hands setting up the takedowns, the takedowns setting up the hands. And I finished it in the first round, which was great.”
And with his 20th career victory in the bag, Chandler said he would take some time off with his family before setting his sights on his next text in the summer of 2020. But he said he won’t sit around waiting for current champ Freire to put his belt on the line before making his return to action.
“Obviously the 155 belt is tied up – I’m not going to sit here and dwell on that,” he said. “It’s tied up because I let it be tied up. There’s no finger I can point at anybody besides myself. So I’m going to go back to the drawing board… Bellator always puts on a big card May, June-ish, so we’ll shoot for that.
“I’m not waiting for Patricio at all, in any aspect of life. I lost to him, I’m 2-1 against the Pitbull brothers right now. If he ever figures out
what he’s doing with the Grand Prix, whether he wins it or doesn’t win it, we’ll see what happens. For me, not that the belt doesn’t matter, but the paychecks are the same whether I go in and there’s a belt on the line or not. Fighting in front of the Saitama Super Arena crowd, this was great. So I’m in this for the experiences, I’m in this to become a better human being, a better man every single day. So we’ll see what happens.”
Michael Chandler delighted to bounce back with KO at Bellator 237: 'Things worked out perfectly'
