Michael Chandler isn’t worried about “ring rust” when he steps into the cage to defend his Bellator lightweight title Thursday night against Rick Hawn.
The 26-year-old champion with a perfect 10-0 record spent just 56 seconds inside Bellator’s circular cage in 2012, blasting overmatched Japanese veteran Akihiro Gono in his lone appearance of last year. Previous to that, Chandler’s last trip to the cage came in his championship-winning instant classic with Eddie Alvarez in November 2011. One minute of competition over 14 months makes for a lot of questions about layoffs and readiness, but the former University of Missouri wrestling standout isn’t the least bit concerned.
“It is one of those things where if someone has a long layoff, you have to talk about ring rust, you have to bring it up,” acknowledged Chandler, speaking with Sportsnet via telephone last week. “It’s just the norm right now, but I hope I prove it wrong, and don’t have any problems.
“When I’m training in the cage at the gym, I feel like I’m getting cage time. I think ring rust isn’t really any issue unless you think that there is the possibility that you’re going to have ring rust, you know? I’ve been training, I’ve been working my butt off; I’m prepared, and I’m going to go out there and put on a great performance. I try not to think about it — keep that possibility out of my head — and just go out there, hit that switch, listen to my coaches, and get that win on January 17th.”
Regardless of the outcome, Chandler and Hawn will make history on Thursday night, going down in the record books as the first tandem to headline a Bellator event on Spike TV. After two years on MTV2 and a protracted countdown to Thursday’s debut, the lightweight champion is sees his first title defence as the start of a busy year, and a chance to establish himself as the face of the Bellator franchise.
“I’ll definitely be disappointed if I don’t get three fights this year. I think fighting January 17th, and already having Marcin Held and Dave Jansen waiting in the wings — they’re going to fight pretty soon, and one of them will be the tournament champion — I don’t expect to be on the shelf for three or four months.
“(Bellator organizers have) wanted to showcase their champions a lot more, they just haven’t had the opportunity to. Now they have the opportunity; no excuses. No excuses from me, no excuses from them. I should be able to fight three or four times this year.
“When people think of Bellator, I want them to think of me,” continued Chandler, who said he is honoured to be one of the focal points in the organization’s marketing scheme as they begin their new era on Spike TV. “And when they think of me, I want them to think of never wanting to ever miss one of my fights. I always want to go out there and put on a great show for the fans; be a fighter that people refuse to miss his fights because he does put on such a great show. That’s my goal.
“I train hard enough and smart enough, and I make the right decisions to be that kind of fighter and to be that champion. I just want to go out there and put on a good show for the fans every single time I step into the cage, and obviously that will be great for Bellator.
“I’ve expressed to Bellator that I want to be the guy they use for everything,” continued the affable, well-spoken lightweight champion. “If they want to send somebody wherever, whenever, I want to be that guy. I’m young, I’m single, and I’ve got no attachments, so there is no reason I shouldn’t be able to hop on a flight and go wherever.”
Thursday night, Chandler will go into the cage to defend his title against Hawn, who earned his spot opposite the champion by defeating Ricardo Tirloni, Lloyd Woodard, and Brent Weedman in successive months to claim the Season Six lightweight tournament. While he’s quick to praise his adversary’s pedigree and preparedness heading into their showdown, Chandler believes he has the skills to handle whatever Hawn brings to the table, and plans on leaving the cage with the championship belt around his waist and his perfect record intact.
“It’s an honour to fight Rick Hawn — he’s an Olympian; he’s represented our country and he’s a great competitor — and there is no doubt that he’s doing the right things to go out there and perform well on January 17th. It’s great to know that I’m fighting a guy who is definitely doing the right things, putting the work in. It’s an exciting match-up — judo Olympian versus wrestler turned MMA fighter. It’s just going to come down to who wants it more, and who is going to perform better on that night.”
Chandler, who now trains with the team at Alliance MMA in San Diego after starting his career in Las Vegas at Xtreme Couture, believes he’s grown a lot as a fighter since making the move.
“I’m getting back to that wrestler’s mindset of working on my takedowns, working on my transitions, and that kind of stuff, but still working on my hands with great striking coaches, Eric Del Fierro and Adrian Melendez down here,” Chandler said. “We get great work in five, six times a week. It’s been a great experience, and it doesn’t hurt that it’s sunny Southern California, so it’s a nice place.
“I’m happy, healthy, and ready to do this thing.”