Michael Chandler is eyeing a showdown with UFC BMF kingpin Max Holloway at the White House on June 14.
‘Blessed’ will defend his strap at UFC 326 in a rematch with Charles Oliveira, and ‘Iron’ believes Holloway will get past the Brazilian once more. Holloway and ‘Do Bronxs’ last fought in 2015, where the latter suffered an injury in the first stanza and was unable to continue, handing Holloway the TKO win.
Since then, both fighters have evolved into legends. One now calls himself the best boxer in the UFC, while the other is widely regarded as the greatest submission artist.
Michael Chandler hopes Max Holloway wins at UFC 326 so he can fight ‘Blessed’ for the BMF title on June 14
Michael Chandler, who has faced Charles Oliveira twice and come up short on both occasions, believes that after the Brazilian’s knockout loss to Ilia Topuria, his not taking enough time off and jumping straight into another training camp for a quick turnaround was an unwise decision.
After being sent to the shadow realm by Topuria at UFC 317 and failing to reclaim the 155-pound championship while it was vacant, Charles Oliveira returned to winning ways against
Mateusz Gamrot later in 2025.
‘Iron’ thinks a not-so-well-rested and recovered ‘Do Bronxs’ won’t perform to his full potential. Hence, Chandler believes Max Holloway will register another successful BMF title defense with a win over Oliveira at UFC 326. If ‘Blessed’ wins, ‘Iron’ wants to face him at the UFC White House on June 14. He told MMA Junkie:
I got my eye on that one [UFC 326: Holloway vs. Oliveira 2]. I think Max gets the win. I think Oliveira is coming off a pretty devastating knockout and turned around real quick, jumped into another training camp. I got my eyes set on that BMF belt if Max wins, so we’ll see.”
Check out Michael Chandler’s comments below:
Holloway has not made the same mistake as Charles Oliveira. At UFC 308, after suffering the first knockout loss of his career at the hands of ‘El Matador,’ Holloway made a permanent move up to 155 pounds. After ample time to rest and fully recover from a knockout loss, he successfully defended his BMF title against Dustin Poirier in their trilogy bout at UFC 318. He was sidelined for the past few months due to a hand injury, but is now ready to “submit the submission artist.”
Michael Chandler, on the other hand, was rumored to fight Conor McGregor on June 14. However, UFC CEO Dana White is no longer interested in making this fight happen, but Chandler still hopes to face the Irishman and complete their TUF 31 saga.
If Michael Chandler does not get McGregor as a preferred opponent, the 39-year-old is still hell-bent on fighting on the South Lawn of the White House against any opponent. During the same interview with MMA Junkie’s Mike Bohn, he added:
There’s still some hope there that maybe that fight [Conor McGregor] happens. We shall see. But we’re having some conversations, and either way, I will be on the White House lawn on June 14th.”
Check out Michael Chandler’s comments below (8:20):
‘The Notorious’ is now rumored to be fighting Mauricio Ruffy at the White House. Ruffy recently claimed that McGregor is looking to face a surging contender in his comeback bout and believes a striker vs. striker matchup with Ruffy would generate massive numbers than fighting someone on a losing skid.
