"There's other stuff behind the scene"- When Josh Thomson pulled no punches and called Michael Chandler "very fake"
Josh Thomson once bashed Michael Chandler by claiming that his personality is not genuine and went as far as insinuating that it's a persona for the public. They both competed under the Bellator banner, so they're paths have crossed in the past, and it doesn't sound like there's any love lost.
'Iron' has been known for being a very inspirational fighter through his motivational posts, entertaining fighting style, and post-fight interviews. Since joining the UFC from Bellator, Chandler's popularity has also surged a great deal.
Despite the public perception of the former Bellator lightweight champion, 'The Punk' was quick to dispute it as not being how he truly conducts himself. During a Calabasas Fight Companion for UFC 264, Brendan Schaub questioned why he had such an issue with 'Iron', whom he is on good terms with.
Thomson mentioned that he had been around Chandler long enough and mentioned that his public persona isn't how he truly is behind-the-scenes:
"I know [Chandler] personally first hand that he is very fake. He's just fake. Remember how 'DC' and Jon Jones...got on that ESPN thing when the cameras turned off?...You saw the real Jon Jones and you saw 'DC' and that's the Michael Chandler portion of the part that I've seen. And it's been that way. I don't f*ck with him at all...That's my personal opinion, man. But that's me with him...There's other stuff behind the scene." [0:32]
Check out Josh Thomson's comments below:
Josh Thomson claimed former UFC lightweight champion had an issue with Michael Chandler
In addition to sharing the personal issues he has with Michael Chandler, Josh Thomson claimed that a former UFC lightweight champion also expressed his dislike for 'Iron' after fighting him.
During the aforementioned clip, Thomson mentioned that Benson Henderson was once on good terms with Chandler, but that immediately changed after their first fight in Bellator. 'The Punk' used that to support his previous comments:
"People that I know are good people like Benson Henderson. Friends, everything like that until the fight thing came up and then...Benson's like, 'He's the biggest fakest motherf***er I've ever met.' And Benson's like one of those guys, he loves everybody. He's such a fu**ing great guy...And so, when someone like that comes on and just backed up what I said, I'm like, 'I get it, man.'"