After losing his title at Bellator 221, Michael Chandler has posted a statement on social media.
Chandler had only regained the Bellator Lightweight Title in December 2018 but fell short in his first defence, suffering a TKO defeat opposite Featherweight Champion Patricio Freire. The stoppage itself was somewhat controversial but in his initial post-fight interview, Chandler opted against overstating the referee’s decision. Now days later, Chandler has reflected on the result in greater detail.
“I refuse to say it doesn’t sting. I refuse to say I haven’t shed a tear or two over it. I’m not ashamed to say it hurts. But this sport is as merciless and unforgiving as it is beautiful and exhilarating,” he wrote. “We can’t enjoy the spoils of the good without also accepting the pains of the bad. When I woke up Sunday morning, I woke up a winner for more reasons than I can count.
Getting knocked down and embarrassed for the whole world to see is never easy. The naysayers have been and will continue to come out of the woodwork. The constant struggle to block out the negativity and focus only on the good has been a mountainous task, but a battle I am winning. I relish the notion that this journey is far from over and I am certain that the best is yet to come.
I secretly love my back against the wall. I secretly love being the hunter and not the hunted,” Chandler stated. “You haven’t seen anything yet.”
Chandler has been here before of course, coming back from defeats and regaining Bellator gold on two occasions. After losing to Freire, Chandler is now 2nd on the promotion’s all-time win list but he’ll be looking to add to that tally upon his eventual return.
If you want to check out the former champion’s post-fight full statement, please read below:
Loss thoughts... pic.twitter.com/GGPHUQ576e
— Michael Chandler (@MikeChandlerMMA) May 16, 2019
