During his long wait for the return of Conor McGregor, Michael Chandler has had a lot of time to think about how he wants to spend the remainder of his career.
"Iron" Mike has delivered non-stop entertainment since arriving in the UFC back in 2021 where all but one of his Octagon appearances have seen him earn a performance or fight of the night bonus.
That one exception is his first encounter with Charles Oliveira at UFC 262 where the two men fought for the vacant lightweight title in the aftermath of Khabib Nurmagomedov's retirement.
The two men are now set to run it back over five rounds at UFC 309 in New York where Chandler believes that fans will see a new version of himself that has changed over time.
Michael Chandler Explains Shift In Mindset Ahead Of Long Awaited Octagon Return
Chandler states that during the two-year break between fights whilst he was waiting to face McGregor, he fell back in love with the sport due to the separation he had from it.
In that time, the former Bellator champion underwent a change in mindset which he recently explained in an interview on Bussin' With The Boys.
Chandler describes how his mentality when he arrived in the UFC was to make as much noise as possible, throwing caution to the wind in order to get the fans off their seats.
He certainly did that but in MMA, when you live by the sword, you die by it too and that all-action style can sometimes only get you so far.
When asked what will be different about this rematch with "Do Bronx" over three years on from their first meeting, Chandler said that he's coming into Madison Square Garden with a refreshed outlook.
The maturation process of who I am as an individual and fighter. For better or worse, I needed to come into the UFC and stake my claim and prove myself, right, and now I have proven myself. So, Chandler 1.0 was come into the UFC, prove the doubters wrong that this Bellator dude can't come in and compete with the best guys in the world, obviously I have done that.
Win, lose or draw, it's a great fight. Win, lose or draw, I've hurt everybody that I've fought. Win, lose or draw, I'm getting fight of the night. Win, lose or draw, you're on the edge of your seat when Michael Chandler steps inside the Octagon right? And now, Chandler 2.0 is okay, I had an opportunity to step back, fall back in love with the sport and now I truly believe now more than ever that it's time for me to go win the title so fighting Oliveira puts me in that position.
Read also: Former UFC Champion Explains Path To McGregor vs. Chandler Fight Despite Oliveira Booking