He cannot do that work anymore

Michael Chandler’s future became a major talking point following UFC Freedom 250, and Chael Sonnen believes the former Bellator champion may have reached the end of the road.

During a recent breakdown of the White House card, Sonnen was asked to identify the biggest loser from the event in terms of what comes next. Despite praising Chandler as both a friend and one of his favorite fighters, Sonnen did not hesitate with his answer. He said:

“Michael Chandler cannot do this work anymore. This is just not a job with the job requirements. He can’t do this work. And he looked good. He looked like a million bucks. We’ve got a few guys that can usually get a few extra years out of them [the new drug testing body of the UFC]. But boy, he had this nervousness. I haven’t seen that nervousness. I’ve seen tweakers do it and I’ve seen guys in their first cage fight do it. They got this nervous energy. They don’t know what to do.”

He added:

“One time in the fight, partner, he turned and ran away. I even said to my mother, ‘Did Mike just run?’ And she says, ‘Fastest his little feet can take him.’ I don’t quite know what that exchange was. He was out there and he was just freaking. He was just freaking.”

Check out Chael Sonnen‘s comments below (32:30):

The defeat marked Chandler’s fourth consecutive loss and continued a difficult stretch that has seen him fall to Dustin Poirier, Charles Oliveira, Paddy Pimblett, and now Ruffy. At 40 years old, retirement discussions have intensified following the one-sided defeat at the White House. Chandler landed just three significant strikes before being finished and was unable to generate meaningful offense throughout the bout.

Michael Chandler refuses to entertain retirement despite retirement talks from Chael Sonnen and MMA community

While Chael Sonnen believes the writing may be on the wall, Michael Chandler has made it clear that he sees things very differently.

Days after the loss to Ruffy, the veteran released a lengthy statement addressing both his performance and the growing speculation about his retirement. Chandler praised Ruffy’s striking ability and admitted the fight did not go according to plan, but insisted he remains healthy, motivated, and determined to continue competing.

In a long video posted on social media, he said:

“It’s time to get back on the horse. It’s time to continue to move forward as I always do. Typical Chandler fashion. All we do is move forward. In the face of adversity, we move forward. We walk on. In the face of letdown, we walk on. In the face of opposition, we walk on. Things don’t go our way, we continue to walk on. Because we are the man in the arena. And we’d much rather be that person who fails while daring greatly than being the person who’s sitting on the sidelines of life talking about the man or the woman who failed while daring greatly.”