Michael Chandler explains why UFC 268 loss to Justin Gaethje "feels like a win" to him
Michael Chandler has asserted that his unanimous decision loss to Justin Gaethje at UFC 268 “feels like a win” to him.
In an edition of The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, Michael Chandler was asked whether he felt the Justin Gaethje fight was ultimately a bittersweet experience as he didn’t win. Chandler responded by stating:
“No, I mean, I don’t.” Chandler continued, “I don’t like when people justify losses and act as though it was okay that they lost because then you just are accepting of the loss and you accept that you didn’t win. But for me, truthfully, yeah, I think now, at this point, it feels – Win, lose, or draw, I was happy with the performance. I mean, it was a close fight. Some people will say Justin Gaethje beat me the entire time. There was definitely a judge who gave him 30-27. I get it. But just the way that the fight happened – The atmosphere; obviously, the fans’ reactions, the UFC’s reaction, you and media’s reaction. It feels like a win.”
“Because truthfully, and this is something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately, and it really happened when I came to the UFC. Are we there to collect wins and losses? Absolutely. Do we really want to win most of the time? Absolutely. But people aren’t going to remember the wins and losses. They’re going to remember how you made them feel. And I think the feeling that people got, it was the epitome of why people love this sport. It was the feeling that they got from me versus Justin Gaethje at Madison Square Garden, with everything on the line, and two dudes who – We did exactly what we said we were gonna do, right?”
Furthermore, Michael Chandler noted that he and Justin Gaethje delivered on the promise that their fight would be exciting.
Michael Chandler is now on a two-fight losing streak but has vowed to bounce back and return to winning ways. He’s also been lobbying for a dream matchup against MMA megastar Conor McGregor in 2022.
You can watch Michael Chandler’s conversation with Ariel Helwani in the video below:
Justin Gaethje’s win over Michael Chandler has likely earned him the next shot at UFC lightweight gold
Charles Oliveira, the reigning UFC lightweight champion, is set to defend his title against Dustin Poirier at UFC 269 on December 11th. Prior to UFC 268 earlier this month, the consensus was that either Islam Makhachev or the Gaethje-Chandler winner would receive the next shot at the lightweight belt.
That said, after Justin Gaethje’s hard-fought win over Michael Chandler at UFC 268, the momentum appears to have shifted in Gaethje’s favor.
In fact, even Makhachev’s most ardent supporters, such as MMA legend Daniel Cormier, have admitted that Justin Gaethje deserves to fight for the title next. Gaethje is likely to face the Oliveira-Poirier winner for the UFC lightweight title in 2022.