Michael Chandler sees an uphill battle for Justin Gaethje in his UFC lightweight title-unification bout.
Gaethje (27-5 MMA, 10-5 UFC) claimed the interim belt by battering Paddy Pimblett for five rounds at UFC 324. His next fight is expected to be against lightweight champion Ilia Topuria (17-0 MMA, 9-0 UFC), who is targeting a return in the first half of 2026.
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Chandler (23-10 MMA, 2-5 UFC) defended Gaethje against the criticism toward his fight against Pimblett (23-4 MMA, 7-1 UFC) but said Topuria is a different beast.
“It is tough,” Chandler told MMA Junkie in an interview on behalf of Phorm Energy. “The way that I describe it is like, I do think there’s been some people saying it was kind of a sloppier fight, there was other stuff happening, it wasn’t as technical. I think Justin Gaethje is more technical vs. a more technical opponent. Paddy has this very unpredictable, herky-jerky, kind of awkward, weird style, which I think lends itself to both guys fighting a little bit sloppier, a little bit more sporadic or chaotic than they normally would.
“You go back and watch Gaethje vs. (Dustin) Poirier, Gaethje vs. myself, Gaethje vs. Tony Ferguson, these fights where it’s like traditional striker vs. traditional striker, kind of very similar movements, he can put on a lot more of a technical performance. With that being said, Ilia Topuria is easily the most talented and most dangerous guy in the entirety of the UFC. So it’s going to be a tall task. He’ll be a little more cautious, which will be very good for Gaethje.”
Topuria has been on a historic tear in which he knocked out current featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski, BMF champ Max Holloway, and most recently ex-champ Charles Oliveira to capture the vacant lightweight title at UFC 317.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Michael Chandler: Ilia Topuria ‘a tall task’ for Justin Gaethje
