Ahead of his May 17 rubber match with Bellator lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez, former champ Michael Chandler says he's learned his lesson going the distance with fickle MMA judging.
"I'm going to continue to come forward. That's what I do." Chandler told Sherdog. "Eddie is going to continue to try to be slick and use his footwork, but I will get my hands on him and I will finish this fight. That's my goal. I think I continue to prove to everybody that if you leave it in the hands of judges anything can happen. Bad things can happen."
At the conclusion of the pair's November rematch at Bellator 106, Chandler saw his 12-0 unbeaten streak vanish as the judges awarded Alvarez the split decision victory. The five-round epic was another instant classic, more than living up to their first meeting back in 2011.
"I wouldn't say 'wronged.' I'm not going to sit here and have that victim mentality of, 'Oh, I won the fight and they took it from me. They took what was mine. Blah blah blah.' I didn't consciously make the choice, but by not finishing the fight I gave [the judges] the opportunity to give the fight to Eddie."
Believing he'd earned the nod, Chandler says he wasn't the only one surprised when the scores were read.
"I think Eddie didn't believe he won the fight. I think his coaches didn't believe he won the fight. I think his family there in the stands didn't believe he won the fight. You could tell by everyone's reaction. His coaches told him he had to finish me going into that fifth round so they believed he was down on the scorecards."
Eddie Alvarez defends his lightweight title to Michael Chandler May 17 at Bellator 120: Alvarez vs. Chandler III live on pay-per-view.
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Statistics: Posted by z0rg — Mar 20. 2014, 15:44 — Replies 2 — Views 23
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