Chael Sonnen sees UFC Freedom 250 as a must-win for Michael Chandler.
Former Bellator champion Chandler (23-10 MMA, 2-5 UFC) takes on rising lightweight contender Mauricio Ruffy (13-2 MMA, 3-1 UFC) on June 14 at The White House. The ex-UFC title challenger will look to snap a three-fight losing skid to Dustin Poirier, Charles Oliveira, and most recently Paddy Pimblett at UFC 314. If Chandler fails to rebound against Ruffy, Sonnen believes it could mark the end of his career.
Advertisement
“Yes, he likely will (retire), and I don’t know that it will be necessarily his choice,” Sonnen said on his YouTube channel. “Chandler is now 38 years old. Chandler is also gainfully employed by Paramount and is going to be part of the announcing team. Should he lose a fight, that would probably be a point in Chandler’s career. Chandler’s one of those guys that still wants to be a world champion. So if he gets confronted with, look, that’s just not in your future. At 38 years old and coming off this defeat, that is not in your future. I predict he likely would say, ‘Fair enough, give my spot to somebody else.'”
Chandler hasn’t won a fight since brutally knocking out Tony Ferguson in May 2022, which was the fourth loss of an eight-fight losing streak for “El Cucuy.” Chandler’s only other UFC win came in his debut against Dan Hooker in January 2021, when he finished him by first-round TKO.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC Freedom 250: Analyst sees retirement in Michael Chandler’s future
