Michael Chandler

Chandler met Brie Willett after emailing for nearly two years starting in 2013. The couple married on September 6, 2014. They expanded their family through adoption, welcoming their son Hap in 2017 and their second son, Ace, in April 2022.

Outside the cage, Chandler operates Training Camp, a fitness and mixed martial arts gym in Nashville, Tennessee.

Born in High Ridge, Missouri, Chandler competed in football and wrestling at Northwest High School, finishing as an MSHSAA state runner-up in 2004. He enrolled at the University of Missouri without an athletic scholarship, walking onto the Tigers wrestling squad.

He served as team captain for three seasons. Chandler collected 100 collegiate victories, finished as a two-time Big 12 Championship runner-up, and earned NCAA Division I All-American honors with a fifth-place finish at 157 pounds in 2009. Training alongside teammates Tyron Woodley and Ben Askren influenced his decision to pursue mixed martial arts immediately after graduation.

Chandler made his professional MMA debut in August 2009 and signed with Bellator MMA in 2010. He won the Season Four Lightweight Tournament in May 2011 by defeating Patricky Pitbull Freire. Six months later, Chandler claimed the Bellator Lightweight World Championship by submitting Eddie Alvarez via fourth-round rear-naked choke.

He successfully defended the belt against Rick Hawn and David Rickels before dropping the title to Alvarez in a 2013 split decision rematch. Chandler regained the vacant lightweight belt in June 2016 with a first-round knockout of Patricky Pitbull at Bellator 157. After defending against Benson Henderson, he lost the belt due to an ankle injury against Brent Primus in 2017. Chandler avenged that defeat in December 2018 at Bellator 212, winning a unanimous decision to secure his third lightweight title.

Chandler signed with the UFC in late 2020. He made an immediate impact in January 2021 at UFC 257, knocking out Dan Hooker in the first round to secure a Performance of the Night bonus. The victory earned him a shot at the vacant UFC Lightweight Championship against Charles Oliveira at UFC 262, where he fell short via second-round stoppage.

Chandler remained a fixture in high-profile clashes. His three-round war against Justin Gaethje at UFC 268 in November 2021 was widely voted Fight of the Year across major MMA outlets. At UFC 274 in May 2022, he delivered a highlight front-kick knockout against Tony Ferguson. Chandler later served as a coach opposite Conor McGregor on The Ultimate Fighter 31 in 2023, though their scheduled bout at UFC 303 was cancelled due to an injury sustained by McGregor.