Michael Chandler has been through wars before, but UFC 314 in Miami was a rough one.
The former Bellator champ and one-time UFC title challenger took a third-round TKO loss to Paddy Pimblett after getting taken down and swarmed with elbows and punches. A big knee earlier in the fight left him with a nasty cut that almost sent him to the hospital. Thankfully, he avoided that trip and is now back home in Nashville.
That loss marked Chandler’s third in a row, dropping him to 2-5 in the UFC. It’s been long since that knockout win over Tony Ferguson in 2022. He spent nearly two years chasing a fight with Conor McGregor that never materialized, only to finally move on and step back into the cage at UFC 309. When he faced Pimblett at UFC 314, it felt like everything had been building to this, just not in the way he would’ve hoped.
After the fight, Chandler stayed quiet. No post-fight callouts, no excuses. He didn’t say much until Monday, when he reposted some photos on X of Brie had shared him in sunglasses, hiding the damage but still managing a smile, “Never out of the fight. This picture sums it all up. As long as I’ve got these heartbeats and hands to hold, I’ve already won.” He wrote in the caption.
After a night like that, it’s clear what truly matters to him. The losses sting, no doubt. And where his career goes from here is a big question; climbing back up the UFC ladder won’t be easy. But through it all, he’s still standing, smiling, and showing up for the people who matter most.
Dana White put it simply: Chandler’s the UFC’s version of Arturo Gatti. Win or lose, he gives everything. Every time.
