John McCarthy and Josh Thomson explain what Michael Chandler needs to do to beat Justin Gaethje at UFC 268
Justin Gaethje and Michael Chandler will lock horns in a much-anticipated lightweight clash at UFC 268 on November 6. The fight between two top contenders in the division promises to be an edge-of-the-seat thriller. The winner of the bout could also be next in line to fight the winner of Charles Oliveira vs. Dustin Poirier.
John McCarthy and Josh Thomson weighed in on the upcoming fight between Gaethje and Chandler in the latest episode of their podcast. According to them, if the fight stays on the feet, Justin Gaethje is the likelier of the two men to get his hand raised. But if Chandler manages to take the fight to the ground, his chances of winning increase by a fair margin.
"On the feet, Justin Gaethje wins this fight. On the ground, Chandler wins this fight. But as the fight goes on and it's only a three-round fight, Chandler is a stud for three rounds. He starts getting to that fourth and fifth round, he tends to slow down. This is going to be one of those fights where if Justin can catch him, he can get him out of it. Justin uses his kicks, he can potentially get him out of there too because Chandler's real light on that lead foot and he bounces around a lot He needs that movement to stay out of the range. So if Gaethje starts using his leg kicks which everyone has told me they're just nasty and they're hard and he's fast with them but I don't think he has the wrestling to stop Michael Chandler. If Michael Chandler gets on top of him, Justin Gaethje is going to have a hard time," said Josh Thompson.
Stakes are high for Justin Gaethje and Michael Chandler at UFC 268
To sum it up, the stakes are very high in this crucial lightweight encounter, mainly because the winner might get to fight for the title down the line.
Even stylistically, it makes for an intriguing matchup because both fighters bring contrasting skillsets to the contest. While Justin Gaethje is a ruthless knockout artist, Michael Chandler's wrestling credentials are a cut above the rest of the lightweight division.
Who do you think emerges as the winner in this fight? Sound off in the comments.