Michael Chandler
Encyclopedia
Michael Chandler Jr. is an American
professional
mixed martial arts
(MMA) fighter fighting in the lightweight
division and previously in the welterweight
division. He is currently under contract with Bellator Fighting Championships
where he is the Bellator Lightweight Champion. He was also the winner of the Bellator Season Four: Lightweight Tournament. He is currently ranked as the #10 lightweight by Sherdog.com
.
. He was born second of four children to Michael Sr. and Betty Chandler. In high school, Chandler was on the honor roll every term, received three letters in football, and finished second at the Missouri State High School Championships his senior year for wrestling. He was voted the Most Valuable Wrestler during his senior season and was selected to the All-St. Louis Team.
Upon graduating from Northwest High School
in 2004, Chandler enrolled at the University of Missouri
, walking onto the school's wrestling squad. While at Missouri Chandler was a four-time NCAA qualifier, collected 100 career wins, as well as earning fifth place All-American honors. Chandler earned runner-up honors in the 2008 and 2009 Big XII Championships and was awarded automatic bids to three of the four NCAA tournaments he competed in. Chandler compiled a 31-15 record against Big XII opponents and a 100-40 overall record in his four years as a starter. He majored in personal finance management services with a minor in real estate.
debut on November 20, 2009 at Strikeforce Challengers: Woodley vs. Bears
where he fought Richard Bouphanouvong. He won the fight via TKO in round 2.
His next fight in Strikeforce was on May 15, 2010 at Strikeforce: Heavy Artillery
where he fought Sal Woods. He won the fight via submission in under a minute.
In his next Bellator appearance, Chandler fought on the Bellator 32 card against Chris Page in a welterweight contest. Chandler won the fight in the opening minute via submission (guillotine choke).
In February 2011, Bellator announced that Chandler would be a part of the Bellator Season 4 Lightweight Tournament
. In the opening round of the tournament, Chandler fought Polish prospect, Marcin Held
, at Bellator 36. Chandler won via technical submission after choking Held unconscious with an arm-triangle choke. The win moved Chandler into the semi-finals.
Chandler then fought Lloyd Woodard at Bellator 40 and won via unanimous decision to move onto the finals of the tournament.
The tournament final took place at Bellator 44 where Chandler would face Team Nogueira product, Patricky Freire
. Chandler utilized his wrestling, using effective take downs to control the fight. He defeated Frire via unanimous decision to win $100,000 and a shot at the Bellator Lightweight Championship versus Eddie Alvarez
.
Chandler was expected to compete for the Bellator Lightweight Championship at Bellator 54. However, Alvarez suffered an undisclosed injury and forcing the bout to be postponed until a later date. Chandler/Alvarez was rescheduled to take place on November 19, 2011 at Bellator 58. Chandler defeated Eddie Alvarez
winning by rear naked choke in the fourth round. Chandler came in very aggressive in the first and second round. In the third round, Alvarez landed several shots stunning Chandler. In the fourth round, Chandler dropped Alvarez with a punch, took his back and forced the tap.
| Win
|align=center| 9-0
|
Eddie Alvarez
| Submission (rear naked choke)
| Bellator 58
|
|align=center| 4
|align=center| 3:06
|Hollywood, Florida
, United States
| Won Bellator Lightweight Championship
|-
| Win
|align=center| 8-0
|
Patricky Freire
| Decision (unanimous)
| Bellator 44
|
|align=center| 3
|align=center| 5:00
|Atlantic City, New Jersey
, United States
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 7–0
| Lloyd Woodard
| Decision (unanimous)
| Bellator 40
|
|align=center| 3
|align=center| 5:00
|Newkirk, Oklahoma
, United States
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 6–0
|
Marcin Held
| Technical Submission (arm triangle choke)
| Bellator 36
|
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 3:56
|Shreveport, Louisiana
, United States
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 5–0
| Chris Page
| Submission (guillotine choke)
| Bellator 32
|
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 0:57
|Kansas City, Missouri
, United States
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 4–0
| Scott Stapp
| TKO (punches)
| Bellator 31
|
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 1:57
|Lake Charles, Louisiana
, United States
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 3–0
| Sal Woods
| Submission (rear naked choke)
| Strikeforce: Heavy Artillery
|
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 0:59
|St. Louis, Missouri
, United States
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 2–0
| Richard Bouphanouvong
| TKO (punches)
| Strikeforce Challengers 5
|
|align=center| 2
|align=center| 2:07
|Kansas City, Kansas
, United States
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 1–0
| Kyle Swadley
| TKO (punches)
| First Blood
|
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 3:30
|Lake Ozark, Missouri
, United States
|
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
professional
Professional
A professional is a person who is paid to undertake a specialised set of tasks and to complete them for a fee. The traditional professions were doctors, lawyers, clergymen, and commissioned military officers. Today, the term is applied to estate agents, surveyors , environmental scientists,...
mixed martial arts
Mixed martial arts
Mixed Martial Arts is a full contact combat sport that allows the use of both striking and grappling techniques, both standing and on the ground, including boxing, wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, muay Thai, kickboxing, karate, judo and other styles. The roots of modern mixed martial arts can be...
(MMA) fighter fighting in the lightweight
Lightweight
Light-weight is a class of athletes in a particular sport, based on their weight.-Professional boxing:The lightweight division is over 130 pounds and up to 135 pounds weight class in the sport of boxing....
division and previously in the welterweight
Welterweight
Welterweight is a weight class division in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like kickboxing, taekwondo and mixed martial arts also began to use it for their own weight division system...
division. He is currently under contract with Bellator Fighting Championships
Bellator Fighting Championships
Bellator Fighting Championships is a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States. "Bellator", which is Latin for "Warrior", is organized into seasons with each event hosting the rounds of championship knockout tournaments for three-five weight divisions.-History:In its first season,...
where he is the Bellator Lightweight Champion. He was also the winner of the Bellator Season Four: Lightweight Tournament. He is currently ranked as the #10 lightweight by Sherdog.com
Sherdog
Sherdog is an American website devoted to the sport of mixed martial arts . The site is a member of the Crave Online network and provides MMA related content for ESPN.com.- History :...
.
Early Life
Chandler was born and raised in High Ridge, MissouriHigh Ridge, Missouri
High Ridge is a census-designated place in Jefferson County, Missouri, United States. The population was 4,598 in the 2007 estimated census. It was 4,236 at the 2000 census...
. He was born second of four children to Michael Sr. and Betty Chandler. In high school, Chandler was on the honor roll every term, received three letters in football, and finished second at the Missouri State High School Championships his senior year for wrestling. He was voted the Most Valuable Wrestler during his senior season and was selected to the All-St. Louis Team.
Upon graduating from Northwest High School
Northwest High School
Northwest High School or North West High School may refer to several schools of the same name:*Northwest High School in Omaha, Nebraska*Northwest High School in Indianapolis, Indiana...
in 2004, Chandler enrolled at the University of Missouri
University of Missouri
The University of Missouri System is a state university system providing centralized administration for four universities, a health care system, an extension program, five research and technology parks, and a publishing press. More than 64,000 students are currently enrolled at its four campuses...
, walking onto the school's wrestling squad. While at Missouri Chandler was a four-time NCAA qualifier, collected 100 career wins, as well as earning fifth place All-American honors. Chandler earned runner-up honors in the 2008 and 2009 Big XII Championships and was awarded automatic bids to three of the four NCAA tournaments he competed in. Chandler compiled a 31-15 record against Big XII opponents and a 100-40 overall record in his four years as a starter. He majored in personal finance management services with a minor in real estate.
MMA career
Immediately after his wrestling career was over, Chandler began training mixed martial arts with Xtreme Couture. He opted out of competing as an amateur and in August of 2009, Chandler made his professional MMA debut with a quick TKO victory over Kyle Swadley.Strikeforce
Chandler made his StrikeforceStrikeforce
Strikeforce is a U.S.-based mixed martial arts and kickboxing organization based in San Jose, California. It is headed by CEO Scott Coker and owned by Zuffa, LLC...
debut on November 20, 2009 at Strikeforce Challengers: Woodley vs. Bears
Strikeforce Challengers: Woodley vs. Bears
Strikeforce Challengers: Woodley vs. Bears was a mixed martial arts event held by the Strikeforce. The fifth Challengers episode took place on November 20, 2009, at the Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kansas.-Televised card:...
where he fought Richard Bouphanouvong. He won the fight via TKO in round 2.
His next fight in Strikeforce was on May 15, 2010 at Strikeforce: Heavy Artillery
Strikeforce: Heavy Artillery
Strikeforce: Heavy Artillery was a mixed martial arts event held by Strikeforce on May 15, 2010 in St. Louis, Missouri, United States at the Scottrade Center...
where he fought Sal Woods. He won the fight via submission in under a minute.
Bellator Fighting Championships
Chandler made his Bellator debut on September 30, 2010, at Bellator 31, where he defeated Scott Stapp via TKO in the first round. The fight was contested at a catchweight for Chandler to test himself for the lightweight division; all his previous bouts being in the welterweight division.In his next Bellator appearance, Chandler fought on the Bellator 32 card against Chris Page in a welterweight contest. Chandler won the fight in the opening minute via submission (guillotine choke).
In February 2011, Bellator announced that Chandler would be a part of the Bellator Season 4 Lightweight Tournament
Bellator Fighting Championships: Season Four
Bellator Fighting Championships: Season Four was the fourth installment of the Bellator Fighting Championships. Mixed martial arts tournaments were held in multiple weight classes, including three of the original tournament classes: Welterweight, Lightweight and Featherweight...
. In the opening round of the tournament, Chandler fought Polish prospect, Marcin Held
Marcin Held
Marcin Held is a Polish mixed martial artist who competes in the lightweight division. A professional MMA competitor since 2008, Held has competed frequently in his home country of Poland and is highly touted by the media...
, at Bellator 36. Chandler won via technical submission after choking Held unconscious with an arm-triangle choke. The win moved Chandler into the semi-finals.
Chandler then fought Lloyd Woodard at Bellator 40 and won via unanimous decision to move onto the finals of the tournament.
The tournament final took place at Bellator 44 where Chandler would face Team Nogueira product, Patricky Freire
Patricky Freire
Patricky Freire is an Brazilian mixed martial artist. He is currently fighting in the Bellator Season 4 Lightweight Tournament.-Mixed martial arts career:...
. Chandler utilized his wrestling, using effective take downs to control the fight. He defeated Frire via unanimous decision to win $100,000 and a shot at the Bellator Lightweight Championship versus Eddie Alvarez
Eddie Alvarez
Eddie Alvarez is an American mixed martial artist, and former Bellator Fighting Championships lightweight champion. Alvarez also competes for the Japanese DREAM promotion, and fought once for ProElite's EliteXC promotion...
.
Chandler was expected to compete for the Bellator Lightweight Championship at Bellator 54. However, Alvarez suffered an undisclosed injury and forcing the bout to be postponed until a later date. Chandler/Alvarez was rescheduled to take place on November 19, 2011 at Bellator 58. Chandler defeated Eddie Alvarez
Eddie Alvarez
Eddie Alvarez is an American mixed martial artist, and former Bellator Fighting Championships lightweight champion. Alvarez also competes for the Japanese DREAM promotion, and fought once for ProElite's EliteXC promotion...
winning by rear naked choke in the fourth round. Chandler came in very aggressive in the first and second round. In the third round, Alvarez landed several shots stunning Chandler. In the fourth round, Chandler dropped Alvarez with a punch, took his back and forced the tap.
Amateur Wrestling
- National Collegiate Athletic AssociationNational Collegiate Athletic AssociationThe National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
- NCAANational Collegiate Athletic AssociationThe National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
Division I All-American (2009) - Big 12 ConferenceBig 12 ConferenceThe Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference of ten schools located in the Central United States, with its headquarters located in Las Colinas, a community in the Dallas, Texas suburb of Irving...
Championship Runner-up (2008, 2009) - University of MissouriUniversity of MissouriThe University of Missouri System is a state university system providing centralized administration for four universities, a health care system, an extension program, five research and technology parks, and a publishing press. More than 64,000 students are currently enrolled at its four campuses...
Wrestling Team Captain (2007–2009) - Ed Lampitt Coaches Award (2009)
- Hap Whitney Coaches Award (2006)
- Hap Whitney Most Improved Wrestler (2006)
- NCAA
- Missouri State High School Activities AssociationMissouri State High School Activities AssociationThe Missouri State High School Activities Association is the governing body for high school activities throughout the state of Missouri...
- MSHSAAMissouri State High School Activities AssociationThe Missouri State High School Activities Association is the governing body for high school activities throughout the state of Missouri...
High School State Championship Runner-up (2004) - All-St. Louis Team (2004)
- MSHSAA
Mixed Martial Arts
- BellatorBellatorBellator, warrior in Latin, may refer to :* Bellator Fighting Championships, a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States-Taxonomy:* Bellator , a fish genus in the family Triglidae...
- Bellator Lightweight Championship (One time; Current)
- Bellator Season 4 Lightweight Tournament Winner
Mixed martial arts record
|-| Win
|align=center| 9-0
|
Eddie AlvarezEddie Alvarez
Eddie Alvarez is an American mixed martial artist, and former Bellator Fighting Championships lightweight champion. Alvarez also competes for the Japanese DREAM promotion, and fought once for ProElite's EliteXC promotion...
| Submission (rear naked choke)
| Bellator 58
|
|align=center| 4
|align=center| 3:06
|Hollywood, Florida
Hollywood, Florida
-Demographics:As of 2000, there were 59,673 households out of which 24.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.5% were married couples living together, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.2% were non-families. 34.4% of all households were made up of...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
| Won Bellator Lightweight Championship
|-
| Win
|align=center| 8-0
|
Patricky FreirePatricky Freire
Patricky Freire is an Brazilian mixed martial artist. He is currently fighting in the Bellator Season 4 Lightweight Tournament.-Mixed martial arts career:...
| Decision (unanimous)
| Bellator 44
|
|align=center| 3
|align=center| 5:00
|Atlantic City, New Jersey
Atlantic City, New Jersey
Atlantic City is a city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States, and a nationally renowned resort city for gambling, shopping and fine dining. The city also served as the inspiration for the American version of the board game Monopoly. Atlantic City is located on Absecon Island on the coast...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 7–0
|
Lloyd Woodard| Decision (unanimous)
| Bellator 40
|
|align=center| 3
|align=center| 5:00
|Newkirk, Oklahoma
Newkirk, Oklahoma
Newkirk is a city in Kay County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 2,243 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Kay County.-Geography:...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 6–0
|
Marcin HeldMarcin Held
Marcin Held is a Polish mixed martial artist who competes in the lightweight division. A professional MMA competitor since 2008, Held has competed frequently in his home country of Poland and is highly touted by the media...
| Technical Submission (arm triangle choke)
| Bellator 36
|
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 3:56
|Shreveport, Louisiana
Shreveport, Louisiana
Shreveport is the third largest city in Louisiana. It is the principal city of the fourth largest metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana and is the 109th-largest city in the United States....
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 5–0
|
Chris Page| Submission (guillotine choke)
| Bellator 32
|
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 0:57
|Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 4–0
|
Scott Stapp| TKO (punches)
| Bellator 31
|
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 1:57
|Lake Charles, Louisiana
Lake Charles, Louisiana
Lake Charles is the fifth-largest incorporated city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, located on Lake Charles, Prien Lake, and the Calcasieu River. Located in Calcasieu Parish, a major cultural, industrial, and educational center in the southwest region of the state, and one of the most important in...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 3–0
|
Sal Woods| Submission (rear naked choke)
| Strikeforce: Heavy Artillery
Strikeforce: Heavy Artillery
Strikeforce: Heavy Artillery was a mixed martial arts event held by Strikeforce on May 15, 2010 in St. Louis, Missouri, United States at the Scottrade Center...
|
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 0:59
|St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 2–0
|
Richard Bouphanouvong| TKO (punches)
| Strikeforce Challengers 5
|
|align=center| 2
|align=center| 2:07
|Kansas City, Kansas
Kansas City, Kansas
Kansas City is the third-largest city in the state of Kansas and is the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is a suburb of Kansas City, Missouri, and is the third largest city in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. The city is part of a consolidated city-county government known as the "Unified...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 1–0
|
Kyle Swadley| TKO (punches)
| First Blood
|
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 3:30
|Lake Ozark, Missouri
Lake Ozark, Missouri
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 1,489 people, 649 households, and 427 families residing in the city. The population density was 211.6 people per square mile . There were 1,143 housing units at an average density of 162.4 per square mile...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
|