When Michael Chandler came over from Bellator and at first at least, appeared as though he was going to take UFC by storm and just steamroll everyone, it was a very exciting time to be an MMA fan. You see, since UFC basically controls the MMA world, putting what at that time was considered Bellator's biggest name into UFC and giving him a shot at it all was the closest thing we have ever had to comparing the two promotions.
I don't think anyone would argue that the best talent in the world is definitely in UFC and the only reason that you need to think this way is because that is where the big paychecks are. Sure, you could argue that since you can secure your own sponsorships in Bellator that each fighter has more freedom to pursue their own wealth, but the fact of the matter is that Bellator, and all other MMA promotions are mere side-shows compared the the massive show that UFC is.
Michael Chandler made a wise decision by coming over to UFC, but as of late, he seems to simply be a tool that UFC uses in order to promote other fighters to the championship bout in Lightweight, where the belt is currently held by a seemingly unbeatable Islam Makhachev. Chandler is ranked at 7th in that division, yet a win over Chandler seems to propel everyone to a shot at championship gold.
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Chandler already had that chance and the UFC isn't quite ready to give him another shot at it but in the meantime they are more than happy to use him as a leapfrog to determine if his opponent is worthy of having a chance at the belt. Justin Gaethje got exactly that after defeating Chandler and later Poirier got a shot at the stupid BMF belt after besting Chandler as well. It just seems to be the way things are done right now and I can tell you exactly why that is: The fans love Michael Chandler because he is a crowd pleaser, win or lose.
Unfortunately, he's been doing a lot more losing than winning as of late seeing as how his only win since mid 2021 was against Tony Ferguson and as I have stated many times before, EVERYONE defeats Tony Ferguson so that isn't much of an accomplishment anymore. For whatever reason, Ferguson has become the "Glass Joe of Punch Out" in the past 5-6 years and was rightfully released by UFC recently.
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His physique is part of the appeal, but mostly there is the question of the fact that this guy turns up and puts on one hell of a show every time he steps into the octagon. He is an excellent wrestler, but instead chooses to remain upright and striking and whether or not this is done intentionally the fact remains that it is far more appealing to the crowd and people watching around the world. Even when he loses, he does so with style and grace and this is why he still gets big money fights even though he has lost all but 2 of his fights in his UFC run.
I do feel though, that the UFC is using him.
I wrote yesterday about how I feel that Paddy Pimblett is a guy that the UFC desperately wants to have at the top, rather than him actually deserving to be there. It has been proven in the past that if you put a European in a top spot that the Europe fans turn up in much greater numbers and buys for PPV's go through the roof when one of "their own" is in the main event. Take that nationality away though, and Europe seems to lose interest. Whatever! There is nothing wrong with supporting the home team.
I think that if Paddy somehow pulls off a win against Chandler (I don't think is likely) that Pimblett will get a shot at the top prize in the very near future despite having never really faced the type of fighter that are all ranked above Chandler in the lightweight division. Arman Tsarukyan, Charles Oliveira, Justin Gaethje, Dustin Poirier, Max Holloway, and Dan Hooker are all ranked between Chandler and the championship but it wouldn't surprise me at all if Dana White were to completely bypass all of them if Pimblett manages a win over Chandler.
Chandler is kind of unique in this way because he seems to propel those that he fights against to positions that they may not deserve but if Chandler wins I don't think the same would be offered to him.
It shouldn't be offered to either of them. Neither of them have earned it. It isn't fair that Chandler or Pimblett would get a shot at gold after that but the issue here is that both of these guys are hugely popular fighters but Pimblett would probably be a bigger draw because he is "newer."
Fairness would dictate that Islam would face off with Tsarukyan despite the fact that they already faced one another in 2019. A lot can change in 6 years and honestly, this is the only championship fight that really should be being talked about at all in lightweight.
unfortunately, that is not how UFC works though. Fairness doesn't really play into it... it's all about what can make the most money. If that wasn't the case, the stupid BMF belt wouldn't exist at all.