Michael Chandler is one of the most widely called out lightweights in the UFC and Chandler has been called out by 'The Great Ape'. That combatant in question is riding a four fight winning streak with back to back striking-based finishes on his ledger. This was expressed during an interview on The Ariel Helwani Show by Alexander Hernandez who is riding high off of his recent Noche UFC win.
That victory over Diego Ferreira marked Hernandez's second win in less than a month with a prior finish of Chase Hooper at UFC 319 in August. When referencing that he called out the former multi-time Bellator MMA champion in his Noche UFC post-fight interview with Helwani asking his guest how confident he is that 'Iron' Michael would accept that challenge, Hernandez said,
“I love that idea. I think it’s something that could happen. It could be a sexy opportunity for either one of us…I think it’s a 2026 fight. The reason for the delay is I want to clean up this left side first…If I can get that back to par, I’ll be as exciting as anyone expects…I’ve entertained the matchup for over a year now. We’ve breached those doors now…I think it’s just a fun stylistic matchup…I don’t think he’ll wait for Conor [McGregor] to fight on this White House card. I wouldn’t rely on Conor for anything if I were him.”
Michael Chandler eyes spot on UFC White House card
Michael Chandler has that White House card in his crosshairs, as Hernandez referenced above, and has enthusiastically expressed his desire to be part of that event which is tentatively mapped out for June 2026. Since his loss to Paddy Pimblett in April, Chandler has not engaged in any discourse about a subsequent fight this year.
In fact, it seems as if Chandler is not specifically targeting competing again in 2025, at least at this juncture. In terms of discussing his desire to fight in alignment with celebrating 250 years of America, Michael Chandler stated [via Uncrowned],
"That's the one I want, but every single person on the entire UFC roster wants that fight. I realize that I, as well as everyone on the roster, are gunning for that card, wanting to be on that card. You got Jon Jones coming out of retirement, entering the testing pool. You got Conor [McGregor] entering the testing pool right after that gets announced, so that's the one everybody wants. That's the pinnacle."
"Is that gonna be my next fight? I don't know, but I'm definitely wanting to be on that card. I've spoken to the UFC about it. They know I want to be on that card, carrying the red, white and blue stars and bars across the lawn into the UFC octagon. It would be a dream come true. Opponent to be determined. We shall see."
