At UFC 257, Michael Chandler will make his highly-anticipated UFC debut against Dan Hooker. Will he show the fight-ending ability that was on display throughout his Bellator run?
Every fighter has their go-to moves, especially specialists within certain martial arts disciplines. Their own signature styles can lead to spectacular finishes. Whether it’s a scary-good rear-naked choke that fighters just can’t seem to avoid once going to the ground or crazy power in a straight left hand that has dropped even granite-chinned fighters with ease, each fighter has a particular finishing move or sequence. Moves that have stuck in fan’s minds and come to define and describe their careers within the cage.
For UFC 257 we will take a look at some fighters with only a few (5 or less) fights in the UFC, rather than those fighters that are long-time UFC veterans with a bunch of finishes with the promotion.
Michael Chandler (21-5 MMA, 0-0 UFC)
Total Number of Pro MMA Finishes: 16
Via KO/TKO: 9
Via Submission: 7
Total Number of UFC Finishes: 0
Via KO/TKO: 0
Via Submission: 0
Michael Chandler will be making his much-anticipated UFC debut at UFC 257. One of the first high-profile Bellator athletes to cross over to the UFC.
Chandler has a very accredited wrestling background and is a high level athlete. As a result, Chandler’s opponents are constantly looking to defend against the takedown.
Chandler has great lateral movement and is good at darting in and out of range in order to hit his opponent and avoid getting hit. This is an essential skill because Chandler stands at just 5’8″ and only has a 69″ reach.
Chandler also keeps his opponents guessing by rarely ‘head-hunting’ and mixing his shots up well to distribute damage to his opponents body and legs too. Chandler hits hard, especially with that big right hand, but he has a great jab to set it up too. Thanks to his speed and power, fighters often respect Chandler’s numerous feints and they have set up some of his KOs and big shots in his fights. Chandler seems to have an ever-improving arsenal and recently has been working on switching to the southpaw stance to give his opponents a different look.
Chandler has knocked out Bellator staple Patricky Pitbull, utilizing his feints to starch the Brazillian with just one punch in the very first round. Early in his career, Chandler choked out Eddie Alvarez in the first of their two historic fights.
In his most recent fight, Chandler knocked out three-time UFC Champion Benson Henderson in their rematch (from the southpaw stance too!). That fight was the last on Chandler’s Bellator contract. After signing with the UFC, fast-forward a few months and he’s all ready for his promotional debut at UFC 257 in the co-main event slot.
