Michael Chandler reveals potential sacrifice ahead of Paddy Pimblett clash at UFC 314
By Simon Head
Former UFC lightweight title challenger Michael Chandler is leaving no stone unturned in his preparation for his upcoming bout with Paddy Pimblett, and is preparing to make a significant personal sacrifice in his quest for victory.
Chandler will take on rising contender Pimblett at UFC 314 in Miami, Florida on April 12, and the former Bellator lightweight champion said that he could end up missing the birth of his daughter, who is due at the end of the month.
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"I have a daughter being born March 31, which is very, very interesting (in terms of the timing)," he told Covers.com.
"It still remains to be seen if I'm going to be able to make it to her birth because it's 12 days before the fight.
"It's not here in Florida. I'd have to fly and do all kinds of stuff, sleep in a hotel, so there's the extra pressure of that. The extra pressures of my wife being a working single mom to two boys right now, plus our third baby on the way two weeks before the fight, so it's a crazy time.
"I think at this time, at this point, it's more than likely I will (miss the birth). It's one of those things where I'm laser-focused and I've got the most supportive wife on the planet who's just like, 'Hey listen, your number one job is to provide for and lead and protect our family, and if that means not being there, so be it. I can handle it,' so I've got her blessing."
Chandler is zeroing in on the task at hand as he prepares to face Pimblett, and said that the Englishman's penchant for putting on weight between fights could be his downfall on fight night on April 12.
“This is a five round fight. This is 25 minutes," he said.
"He faded big time in the Tony Ferguson fight and faded big time in the Jared Gordon fight, a lot of people thought he lost that fight.
"In the dark, dark depths and crevices of those championship rounds is where the question has to be answered. 'Did I do enough and have I been living the championship lifestyle?'
"The question will get answered, 'Can you swim in the deep waters,' and we'll find out if he can. If he makes it to the third round, or the fourth round, or the fifth round, will he sink, or will he swim?
"I've been in those championship rounds. I have fought with the best of them. He has fought and faded against much lesser competition."
Chandler also said that he felt that Pimblett's out-of-camp diet could work against him in the deeper waters of a five-round matchup.
Before Paddy was an opponent, I was the veteran guy who told Paddy, cordially, as a colleague:
"I know it feels great to eat the pizza and drink the beer and get up to 210 pounds with 30 percent body fat. But the body does not hold up that well when you're doing that.
"The weight cutting that we do, the rigors of training, the getting beat up in these fights is bad enough, let alone your insulin resistance going through the roof, looking like you're pre-diabetic between fights. It's not a good thing.
"But, as I said, those questions will get answered after that 15 minute mark."
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