Welcome to The Red Corner, a brand new boxing and MMA column brought to you by the Amarillo Pioneer, covering the world of boxing and mixed martial arts. This column will bring you news, opinions, and quick facts that you need to know about the fights that make the sports world pay attention.
Justin Gaethje (left) and Michael Chandler (far-right) pose for fans at the UFC 268 ceremonial weigh-ins last week/Screenshot
By Thomas Warren III
On Saturday night, viewers experienced a stacked card filled with action-packed mixed martial arts bouts as part of the UFC 268 broadcast from Madison Square Garden in New York City. The card was headlined by a rematch between UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman and former UFC interim welterweight champion Colby Covington.
While the bout between Usman and Covington was definitely a good one, albeit slightly less exciting than their first encounter in December 2019, the fight that I would argue was the true main event of the evening opened the card and set up several exciting fights that could be on the horizon in 2022.
The lightweight bout between Justin Gaethje and Michael Chandler opened the card and set the tone for the rest of the evening. With many fans believing the fight would offer nothing but pure violence inside of the Octagon, the two combatants delivered, putting on a three-round war that eventually saw Gaethje with his hand raised as part of a unanimous decision win. The fight was not an easy one for Gaethje, however, as the former UFC interim lightweight champion was rocked several times by Chandler, a former Bellator lightweight champion and NCAA Division I All-American wrestler.
Both Gaethje and Chandler were coming off title fight losses that were both exciting while they lasted. Gaethje dropped a submission loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov in October 2020 in Nurmagomedov’s last fight, while Chandler lost by knockout to Nurmagomedov’s successor, Charles Oliveira, by knockout at UFC 262 in May. And both men found their moments in their respective bouts, with Gaethje hurting Nurmagomedov with leg kicks before being taken down and submitted, and Chandler rocking Oliveira to the point where a stoppage wasn’t out of the question.
Looking ahead, both men are still sitting at top spots in the stacked UFC lightweight division. According to official UFC rankings, Gaethje is number two in the division behind only Oliveira and Dustin Poirier, a Louisiana technician who already defeated the University of Northern Colorado product in a 2018 bout. Meanwhile, Chandler is sitting at number five in the division behind Oliveira, Poirier, Gaethje, Beneil Dariush, and Islam Makhachev.
While the former champion, Nurmagomedov, is campaigning for Makhachev to face the winner of the scheduled UFC lightweight title bout between Oliveira and Poirier in December, it seems the right fight to make for the division would be to let Gaethje have the next shot at the champion, whomever that may be after December. Gaethje has stayed in the top rankings of the division for several years now and has arguably redeemed his loss to Nurmagomedov, perhaps the best lightweight to ever compete in the UFC, by defeating Chandler, who just fought for the title.
As for Chandler, there are several big bouts that could be made, as fans are still excited about the action factor that he brings to the table whenever he steps into the cage. One bout that seems to be standing out is a potential fight between Chandler and number nine ranked Conor McGregor, the former UFC lightweight champion who is coming off a loss to Poirier. Chandler and McGregor would both bring non-stop action to the fight and would give fans a well-deserved treat to kick off the first part of the new year.
Either way, in whatever direction the UFC decides to book Gaethje and Chandler next, fans got what they paid for on Saturday night when they tuned in to see these two men lock horns. Gaethje and Chandler have several big possible fights in front of them, and I cannot wait to see what these two men do next inside the Octagon.