‘Iron’ Michael Chandler believes he has the chops to take on the reigning light world champion Islam Makhachev. Before Chandler can put himself in the UFC title picture, he first needs to defeat Dustin Poirier this weekend at UFC 281.
Islam Makhachev alluded to Michael Chandler, Dustin Poirier, and Justin Gaethje’s losses against former UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira. Speaking to longtime teammate Daniel Cormier, Makhachev suggested that Chandler, Poirier, and Gaethje were making “Jiu-Jitsu look bad” and that their BJJ black belts must be taken away.
In a video posted to Daniel Cormier’s official YouTube channel, ‘DC’ referenced Islam Makhachev’s aforementioned jibes at Michael Chandler. When asked for his thoughts on Makhachev being dismissive of him, ‘Iron’ responded by indicating that the language barrier likely causes the Russian fighter to speak in a very matter-of-fact manner.
Both Chandler and Cormier agreed that Russian fighters such as Makhachev and Khabib Nurmagomedov aren’t as proficient in English, which is why their statements may come off as rather blunt and dismissive. Furthermore, Chandler stated:
