Bellator Stud Michael Chandler Talks About Xtreme Couture, Career and More

Prepare to be introduced to unstoppable (so far) lightweight, Michael Chandler.  I had the chance to talk with him about Bellator's lightweight tournament, Eddie Alvarez, Gray Maynard, Chael Sonnen, Xtreme Couture, and more...

BIO

• Michael Chandler
• Born: High Ridge, Missouri
• Age: 24
• Height: 5'8''
• Division: Lightweight (155 lbs.)
• In shape, walk around weight: 180 lbs.
• Wrestling background: University of Missouri. Four-time National qualifier and one-time All-American.
• Training out of: Xtreme Couture, Las Vegas

Interview...

So you cut weight from 180 lbs, that is a pretty big cut.

This is a pretty decent cut, this was my first time ever making 155, but I actually made it a lot better than I thought I would. 

How long have you been doing Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu/submission grappling?

I graduated in 2009 and started training pretty much right away…Right now it should be about two years, right around next week.

Impressive considering you just submitted a submission specialist. Was Marcin Held the toughest or most dangerous opponent you have faced so far?

Oh yeah by far...

He’s not only dangerous, I think he’s all around just good. I think hes good at Jiu-Jitsu, I think he's very, very comfortable off his back.  As you saw, I had to actually choke him unconscious for him to quit, there was no tap in him.  I feel blessed to have had the opportunity to fight him and I think he’s gonna be a great fighter in the years to come, with him being so young. 

The kneebar he had you in looked really deep, can you tell us about that kneebar?

Never did I think about tapping. I want to win this tournament more than anybody I think. It was definitely a little bit scary. 

It seemed like an eternity when I was in it. looking back it was only 10 or 15 seconds, but when I was in it, it felt like I was sitting there for an hour. 

Commentator Jimmy Smith said it looked like it might have hurt you a little.

It might have done a little bit of damage, but it's fine ya know. It's obviously a little bit sore because it was stretched a little bit farther than it needs to normally go.  So [I just took] a couple days off, I was back in the gym yesterday, I'll go back today, and you know, wreak havoc. 

He was throwing up a few armbars, some looked pretty dangerous. Did you think they were close or were you pretty confident about being able to get out of them?

Yeah, in the fight I definitely was not concerned with either of them...but when I went back and looked at the tape they looked a little deep and tighter than in real life.

I wasn’t really concerned with them...I just kind of powered out of them and came down with some ground and pound.  I was pretty confident with my defense and I’m pretty happy with being able to stop a lot of his submission attempts and being able to put a little bit of pressure on him with ground and pound.

Tell us about training at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas.

I hit my mits over there with Gil Martinez, best boxing coach in MMA for sure...He's a boxing coach by trade, but now he's helping me throw kicks and knees and takedowns and all kinds of stuff so he's pretty much like my complete MMA coach, all-around.

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Xtreme Couture speaks for itself. I feel so blessed to have moved out here and in such a great situation. 

I'm basically best friends with my manager and hang out with him everyday.  The training partners like Gray Maynard, I get with him once a week,…we kind of like have the same mindset and we matchup well with each other and compliment each other well. 

And then obviously, Jay Hieron, Evan Dunham, Martin Kampman, Mike Pyle, Tyson Griffin,...ya know just all the guys, it's just an amazing roster here at Xtreme Couture, I can’t say enough about how happy I am to be moved out here.

With that All-Star roster, is there anyone that you look up to the most or whose career you would like to emulate?

Definitely Gray Maynard.  Similar in a lot of aspects—obviously the college wrestling and [being] lightweights, and just talking with him. He's like an endless pit of knowledge man—he trains hard and he really really wants to be the best, and that’s how im trying to be.

[Maynard is] a guy who wants to take the time out of their own schedule and help me and there's no ego and it says a lot about a person who isn’t afraid to help others get better, because that’s what a leader does. They're not afraid of people under them getting as good as them or better.

That’s kind of how I see Gray, a guy who's helped me out and in a month or two he's gonna win the lightweight title.  I'm excited for him and I’d definitely say im trying to emulate his career and his style and just his work ethic. I cant say enough about him, I definitely look up to him the most.

What do you think about the recent news break of Zuffa LLC purchasing Strikeforce?

I think in a lot of peoples mind's, no one is really surprised that Zuffa was gonna buy Strikeforce, or anybody else, just like they did with PRIDE and [consolidating] the WEC.

There has also been a little bit of buzz about the possibility of a fighter's union eventually forming.

[A union] would be good. That would obviously help make sure people are getting paid and getting the benefits that they deserve.

You are already developing a reputation as a finisher, what do you think about eventually getting pulled into deep waters?

That’s the great thing, I havn't done it yet, but I already know.  My thing is I've been in the deepest of the deep waters, deeper than any opponents have had to go, as far as my wrestling background, and literally really really being pushed outside my comfort zone to places where you don’t know if you're going to make it. 

I just think that with my wrestling background there's not going to be any doubt in my mind that if I have to go through a three round war that in the third round I'm gonna be more fresh, more tenacious, I'm gonna want that win more than anybody else I'm going to have to fight. 

I haven't had any long fights yet, but I already know, I have confidence in my training. Its like putting money in the bank, Ive already put money in that bank, and I can withdraw it whenever I need to. 

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I love finishing fights and finishing decisively, but I know im gonna fight Eddie Alvarez in a couple months (if/when Chandler wins the tournament). I'm gonna have some big big fights, you know, and I'm gonna go into deep waters eventually and im excited to go there and I accept that challenge. 

Where do you think Eddie Alvarez ranks?

I’d say you’d have to put him in there in the top ten. Not necessarily top 1, 2 or 3, like some people say but I got a lot of respect for him. I think hes a great fighter, I think he fights hard and he goes out there to crush people and so i'm excited to get that opportunity [to face Alvarez] here soon.

What is your mindframe going into a fight. Do you look at each opponent differently, or more or less the same?

I think so far I've pretty much looked at every opponent the same. I never focus on my opponent—I focus more on myself: knowing what my strengths are, where I can take the fight, how I can win the fight, and the intensity that im going to bring to a fight...You can’t have fear you gotta have faith and confidence. 

That mentality sounds like how Chael Sonnen has been performing recently, do you watch or admire him at all? 

Yeah, I've watched a lot of film on Chael, man.  I really [didn't see] many of his fights until I saw him and Anderson Silva fight. 

Anderson Silva is one of the greatest in the sport, but my hat goes off to Chael Sonnen.  I really wished he would have pulled off that victory because that was an amazing fight.

You have Lloyd Woodard, a fellow undefeated fighter, coming up next at Bellator 40. Did you see his performance against Varnier? Do you break down film? 

I break down a little bit of film.  He went out there and finished that fight, TKO, in dominant fashion.

I actually talked to him a little bit this past weekend before I knew I was going to fight him, and he says he wants to bang and go out there and put on a show and a good fight. 

That’s what I plan on doing, taking the fight to him and kind of going out there and executing my game plan. I think I match up well with him and I'm excited to get that win and [keep going on] to the finals.  

On the other side of the lightweight bracket, you have Toby Imada and Patricky Freire as winners. What do you think of those guys?

Toby Imada is always dangerous, this is his third Bellator tournament now and he finishes a lot of guys by submission—but I think I mathup well with him. 

And I think Freire shocked everybody.  I was sitting cageside with Bjorn Rebney (Bellator CEO) just watching him and Rob McCullough fight and he had no idea that Friere had any standup at all.  Let alone decent standup against Rob McCullough.  I think it's gonna be a good fight.  Two Jiu-Jitsu guys, but they both can throw their hands. We’ll see who makes it...

I don’t mean to sound cocky, but I just think I matchup well with everybody left in the tournament.

Have you given any thoughts as to a potential nickname?

I don’t want one.  It’s one of those things where I should pick one before one is picked for me that I don’t like and it sticks, but I don’t know. 

What is one personal thing about yourself that fans might want to know?

I pretty much just train...and go to church on Sundays.  I do love the outdoor.  Love love the outdoors, fishing and hunting and that kind of thing.

Any last shout outs or sponsors? 

Thanks to Clinch Gear, Hi-Tech Pharmaceuticals, MTX Audio, Raw State energy drink, MMAWarehouse, Training Mask, and Ken Lester. 

Mom and Dad, my two biggest fans, love you guys.