John McCarthy explains why Michael Chandler "did not fight smart" against Justin Gaethje at UFC 268

John McCarthy (left) and Michael Chandler vs Justin Gaethje (right) [Image credits: @ufc and @johnmccarthymma on Instagram]

Michael Chandler and Justin Gaethje delivered a classic three-round war at UFC 268.

Both fighters gave it their all to entertain the fans gathered inside Madison Square Garden on November 6. The two lightweights also received a $50,000 bonus for putting on the Fight of the Night.

Wow! Justin Gaethje vs Michael Chandler via the 𝗙𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗠𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 camera! 🔥

📺 youtu.be/CboQMFdemUk https://t.co/kNWYGrLGOY

Many argued that Chandler did not fight a clever fight. That was evident when, at one point during the bout, 'Iron' dropped his hands and invited Gaethje to hit him with his best shots.

Broadcaster and former MMA referee John McCarthy believes Chandler should have had a more wrestling-focused approach to his fight at UFC 268.

Speaking on the Weighing In podcast, McCarthy said that the 35-year-old played into 'The Highlight's hands by engaging in a stand-up battle for the majority of the fight.

"Gaethje pulled Chandler into exactly what he wanted and that's a great job by Justin Gaethje in saying, 'Let's fight this stand-up fight. Let's go to war.' The war is gonna be won by the guy, you know, that is used to that battle. Not that Mike cannot stand up and fight with someone but when you have a skillset that is actually better than your opponent's and you really don't go to it other than a couple of times when you're in trouble, that's not being a smart fighter and he didn't fight smart."

Catch John McCarthy's take on Michael Chandler's UFC 268 performance on an episode of the Weighing In podcast below:

Michael Chandler apologized to his wife for not following the game plan at UFC 268

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Michael Chandler recently appeared on Ariel Helwani's The MMA Hour. During the interaction, 'Iron' said that he apologized to his wife for engaging in a slugfest with Justin Gaethje instead of using more of his grappling skills to win the fight.

“I had to apologize to my wife because I told her. I told her what the gameplan was. The gameplan was; ‘cause I think I beat Justin Gaethje in a wrestling match 9 times out of 10. And that’s not any disrespect to him. I just think my wrestling is better than his. I could’ve used my wrestling more... But once the fight started, I reverted back to who I am as a person. I reverted to what courses through my DNA, which is just fighting, man. And I loved it.”

Catch Michael Chandler's appearance on The MMA Hour below: