Dana White explains why he picked Justin Gaethje vs. Michael Chandler as his fight of the year for 2021
Justin Gaethje and Michael Chandler waged an all-out war against each other at UFC 268 in November 2021. UFC president Dana White picked the bout as his Fight of the Year.
According to White, Gaethje vs. Chandler lived up to expectations. The UFC kingpin claims that he and everyone else knew that it was going to be one of, if not the, best fights of 2021.
While declaring his President's Choice Awards in a YouTube video uploaded by the UFC, White said:
"It was an incredible year of fights but the one that stands out the most, the one that I think everybody would universally agree, was Gaethje vs. Chandler. You know, the fight was an absolute war. It was one of those fights that actually lived up to the hype. Going in, I knew it was gonna be the Fight of the Year. And I think everybody else knew it was going to be the Fight of the Year. And then it ended up being the Fight of the Year. So congratulations to both those guys, what an absolute war that was. And yeah, that was a special fight."
Catch Dana White declaring the President's Choice Awards below:
Michael Chandler receives his award
Michael Chandler thanked Dana White after his war against Justin Gaethje was selected for Fight of the Year. 'Iron' also hopes he was able to evoke some feelings from viewers after going through three rounds of violence against Gaethje. Receiving his award, Chandler said:
"What an honor it is to be selected for the Fight of the Year of 2021. You know, when I got into the sport, I wanted big fights against great opponents on huge stages. And that's exactly what November 6th was, against Justin Gaethje at Madison Square Garden, the world's most famous arena. So, thank you Dana for this opportunity that you've given me. Thank you for this award. I told you when I signed with the organization, I was gonna try to be a good thing for your organization and make people feel something by my performances. So, I hope everybody felt something November 6th when me and Justin Gaethje went through that war."
A battle for the ages in the Big Apple 🍎
@Justin_Gaethje vs @MikeChandlerMMA takes home the 2021 President's Choice Award for Fight of the Year 🏆
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