Michael Chandler Ditching ‘Here Goes Nothing’ Fighting Style

Michael Chandler is no longer taking the go for broke approach to his fighting style.

Chandler is the reigning Bellator lightweight champion, who is known for his exciting style. The 155-pound kingpin hasn’t been shy to trade leather in his previous bouts, but times are changing.

He said that he isn’t worried about the pressure of fighting in Madison Square Garden on June 24:

“You don’t want to focus on the pressure of the situation, you just want to focus on the task at hand. But as soon as I get my hand raised and knock Brent Primus out, that weight will be lifted and I’ll finally be able to take a deep breath and look back. And someday, I’ll be able to tell my kids that dad fought at Madison Square Garden.”

Chandler then explained why he’s dialing back on his aggressive fighting style.

“I used to just be like, ‘Here goes nothing, let’s go hard and let’s put on a show.’ Now it’s just cool to finally see myself – it only took me 16, 17, 18 fights in this sport and a couple of dozen sets of stitches to realize that you can still be exciting and dominant, and still let the fight materialize. I definitely started to step things more now and knowing that little pop shots here and there are going to pay dividends later on in the fight.”