UFC lightweight contender Michael Chandler expects his performance in Miami next month to be so impressive that it nets him another shot at the division's title soon after.
After a second loss to Charles Oliveira left him 2-4 under the UFC banner, 2025 will mark a crucial year for Chandler and his ongoing championship ambitions on MMA's biggest stage.
His chance to return to winning ways comes on April 12, when he co-headlines the UFC 314 pay-per-view inside the Kaseya Center opposite rising Liverpudlian Paddy Pimblett.
And more than just defending his #7 ranking in the fight, "Iron" is looking to stake his claim for a showdown with the lightweight king.
During a recent interview with Covers.com, Michael Chandler suggested it's not far-fetched that an emphatic display opposite Pimblett next month could see him quickly placed opposite Makhachev for a summer showdown.
There's a world in which I go out there and emphatically starch Paddy Pimblett. And it's the ‘what have you done for me lately business’," Chandler said. "And all of a sudden, Islam wants to fight me and not someone else, and I fight him in June. Who knows? But with that being said, all of those names are on the table. Conor's name was talked about. If Conor comes back this year I'm fighting him.
I am open to fighting Islam in June. The way this fight plays out, I think I’ll have less than a 60 day suspension, maybe a 30 day suspension, and I could fight again in June because the fight would be June 29, I believe it is," Chandler continued. "So that's like, 10 weeks later, so I could jump right back into a training camp and fight for the world title.
Makhachev is currently coming off his third defense of the lightweight crown, having submitted late-notice replacement opponent Renato Moicano at UFC 311 this past January.
With Arman Tsarukyan's withdrawal from that event costing him a title shot and talk of the Dagestani wanting Ilia Topuria to fight a contender before earning an opportunity at two-division glory, perhaps the door could be open for Chandler to make an impression.