After his UFC 303 headliner with Conor McGregor fell through, Michael Chandler may finally be ready to move on.
Fans were set to see the former Bellator MMA champion back inside the Octagon on June 29 for a long-awaited clash with ‘Mystic Mac’ in Las Vegas. Unfortunately, that is no longer the case after the Irish megastar withdrew due to an undisclosed injury weeks ahead of fight night.
Though rumors suggest that their bout could be rescheduled for August or September, ‘Iron’ appears to be sniffing out some other lucrative opportunities—namely a scrap with the UFC’s baddest motherf*cker, Max Holloway.
Bravo. Mike. Foxtrot.
— Michael Chandler (@MikeChandlerMMA) June 20, 2024
“Bravo. Mike. Foxtrot,” Chandler wrote on X, spelling out ‘BMF’ phonetically.
He followed that up with another post featuring his head superimposed on the body of Maximus Decimus Meridus, a character played by Russell Crowe in the 2000 Best Picture winner Gladiator. Again, Chandler dropped a BMF hint, writing “Blessed Man Forever” in the caption.
Blessed Man Forever. pic.twitter.com/NJTg9i6dJO
— Michael Chandler (@MikeChandlerMMA) June 20, 2024
Is Michael Chandler vs. Max Holloway the Right Fight to Pivot to After McGregor’s Withdrawal?
Holloway claimed the bragging rights belt with an incredible buzzer-beating knockout of Justin Gaethje at UFC 300 in April.
All signs appeared to point toward ‘Blessed’ squaring off with current featherweight world champion Ilia Topuria in his next outing. However, Dana White revealed that they were already working on the next BMF title fight during the UFC 302 post-fight press event.
If Michael Chandler is the next man to challenge for the BMF belt, it will be his second time competing for a title after coming up short in his lone lightweight title bid against Charles Oliveira in May 2021. Chandler lost the bout in the second round via rear-naked choke.
Is it time for Chandler to switch gears and chase down the BMF belt, or should ‘Iron’ hold out for his red panty night against Conor McGregor?
