From the moment that the UFC booked Michael Chandler to face Justin Gaethje, it was clear that violence was on the menu. Gaethje has built a career-long reputation as one of MMA’s most unforgiving matchups with an arsenal of power punches, kicks, and a willingness to absorb huge amounts of damage to land his own shots.
For Chandler, the former multiple-time Bellator champion gained his own action-forward reputation off the back of legendary wars with Eddie Alvarez and a bevy of quick finishes over a 12-year-long MMA career. Putting them in the cage together was a guarantee that fans would get to witness something special.