Bellator MMA Lightweight Champion Michael Chandler is preparing to defend the gold against Brent Primus at Bellator 180.
The champion plans on leaving the event with the gold around his waist, then he is going to be focusing on goals he wants to achieve after the event.
“A big shot is just a little shot that never stopped shooting,” Chandler said on MMA Junkie Radio. “That’s really what I have been and what I always be. Through all of this, it’s about that constant improvement and making a better life for my wife and my future kids. I’m on that road, and I couldn’t be happier. This next chapter of my life is just about breaking those barriers, continuing to outperform my previous self, just get better every single day, and inspire and motivate people. And along the way, win a ton of fights and put food on the table.”
Although Chandler has been fighting for quite a while now, some skills he didn’t know he had until a year ago have been paying dividends for him in the present.
“I see and envision myself doing things in this sport, with my technique and with my precision and with my speed and my power, that I didn’t think was possible up until the last year or so,” he said. “I see it, and feel it coming to fruition. I want to outperform myself. I want people to say, ‘Man, that guy is something special. That guy is talented, and that guy says what he means and means what he says and he works extremely hard. If he can do it, then I can accomplish this crazy dream that I have that all these people told me I couldn’t do.'”
Chandler is going to be defending the title for the second time, with his last defense coming against former UFC Lightweight Champion Ben Henderson.
Bellator 180 takes place on Saturday, June 24 from Madison Square Garden in New York, New York with Chael Sonnen and Wanderlei Silva headlining. Fightful is providing live coverage of the event, with a post-show podcast to follow.
