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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
Bellator Lightweight Champion Michael Chandler is entering his third title defense tonight, and he'll be facing the man whom he defeated to capture that belt two years ago in Eddie Alvarez. I spoke with Chandler this week ahead of the fight on a number of topics into the rematch, and you can see what he had to say below:
On how he's feeling into the fight: I am feeling great. Couldn't be happier with the way training went; couldn't be more confident, couldn't be more excited to step back in that cage. I think it's a great situation for me, having a great training camp and a great opponent in Eddie Alvarez, and a great situation for the fans because they get to tune in free on Spike.
On the changed dynamic of being the favorite this time around: That dynamic doesn't really change anything. Eddie has been out for a while, but he's a great competitor, he's a veteran of the sport. He's been around 20 something fights and almost a decade in the sport, so he knows how to train, he knows how to get back in shape and go out there and make sure he's prepared for the fight. I'm preparing for the best Eddie Alvarez that anybody's ever seen. I am a lot better than I was just two years ago. I'm just excited to go out there and show my friends and family, training partners, coaches, how hard I've been working.
When you're fighting a guy like Eddie, I always say he's the kind of guy you need in this sport - he's exciting, he comes forward, he's a great competitor - so you've just got to pick your shots right, and you've got to be prepared. And that's what I've done. I'm prepared, and I'm excited to be able to go out there and challenge him. Just being more of a veteran of the sport now, two years older, two years wiser, two years more under my belt to get better and feel more comfortable inside the cage is really going to help me I believe. I'm just going to take the fight as it comes second by second, and hopefully be able to come out with a dominant win.
On if he had an issue being placed under Rampage-Tito on pay-per-view initially: No, not at all. I think we are all fighters and our job is to fight. Bjorn and Kevin Kay, their job is to put on shows and promote shows and make decisions that we as fighters shouldn't necessarily have much say in. My job is to train, show up Nov. 2, and put on a dominant performance. If I sat around and worried about not being the main event or worrying about any of the outside circumstances that I have zero control over, I'm just going to worry for nothing and really not put myself in the best situation possible to win on Saturday night. I just take things as they come, and now everything's kind of changed a little bit, but it still doesn't change the fact that Nov. 2 I'm stepping into the cage on the same night, in the same place, against the same opponent. Nothing really changes for me. I'm not in charge of Bellator, I'm in charge of my fight, and my fight only. So that's really all I can control and all I need to be worrying about, you know?
On the new contract he signed in July: It's been great. First and foremost, this is now going to be my third fight in 2013. One of my biggest concerns was 'hey, if we're going to do this thing, you guys have to get me fights. I have to get out there and I have put on performances and I have to do my job, which is fight. That's the main thing I'm in control of. If you give me the opportunity to train and fight three times a year, I'm going to go out there and put on a show for you guys.' They've really done well with that, as well as with the Dave and Busters commercials, now headlining this card. Even if the pay-per-view would have gone through I'd still be the co-main event, and it's still a fight that the fans want to see. So I'm being put in situations where I'm going to get good exposure, and now it's even better that we're going to be on Spike TV on a Saturday night. They've been great, they're treating me well, and I humbly say I'm very happy about that, and I think rightfully so. I train my butt off everyday, and I'm trying to become the best that I can possibly be. When you've got a guy like that on your roster, it's in your best interest to use them as much as possible. I always tell them, 'I'm available 24/7, 365, so use me as much as possible,' and they've done a good job of that so far.
On his place in the rankings: I'm focused on Nov. 2, my next fight, which is the biggest fight of my life because every single fight is the biggest fight of my life. You can't control your ranking or what people are going to say about you, all you can control is winning your next fight. So that's what I'm always, always, always focused on first and foremost. There's going to be critics and there's going to be people who are going to say certain things, and things that you might not necessarily agree with, but at the end of the day, I'm happy with my decision, I'm happy where I'm at, and I look forward to going out on Saturday night and putting on a good show and continuing to prove to people how hard I'm working. That's really all I'm worried about.
On whether Alvarez's contract dispute played into him re-signing with Bellator: I didn't really pay much attention to it. My manager and attorney, they were paying more attention to it. I have a great group of people around me, a great support system and mentors, so when you've got great people in your life you can seek wise counsel, you can pray about things, and see how you feel in your heart. I felt good about it. Bjorn got on the record and said I did have a substantial amount of time left on my deal. There was still time left on my deal, there was still fights left on my deal, so we just came to an agreement. Now I'm on the second fight on this new contract, and I'm happy about where my career is going.
I'm happy that I've been active, I'm happy that this is my third fight in 2013 and this is my third title defense. But like I said earlier, Eddie's a great competitor, he's been in the sport for a long time, he knows how to train, he knows how to fight. I don't expect to see a less than normal Eddie Alvarez. I expect him to be at his best, as hopefully he expects to me to be at my best, and we've both trained accordingly, so the fans can expect a good fight on Saturday night.
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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