UFC Fighter Gives 'Exact Blueprint' Needed To Beat Khabib Nurmagomedov Once And For All

UFC new boy Michael Chandler believes he has the 'blueprint' needed to beat Khabib Nurmagomedov as he argued that he is a "better wrestler" than him.

The 34-year-old American was snapped up by the UFC earlier this month after he left Bellator following his victory over Benson Henderson.

And UFC has confirmed that Chandler will serve as a potential backup opponent for the highly anticipated UFC 254 clash between Khabib and Justin Gaethje.

During an Instagram Live Q&A, Chandler insisted that he meant no "disrespect" to Khabib's wrestling style when he suggested he was better than him.

Instead, the three-time Bellator lightweight champ claimed that Khabib hasn't "fought anybody who is a Division-I wrestling All-American."

Chandler explained: "I think I'm the better wrestler than he is. That's not to disrespect his wrestling.

"I think he has shown to be the most dominant wrestler in mixed martial arts, the most dominant wrestler in the world.

"What he does to guys, he comes forward with reckless abandon, pushes you against the cage, picks you up, put you down and puts you in the Dagestani handcuff. Full mount, side guard, crucifix, half guard or in your guard -- the guy is dangerous everywhere.

"[...] I will say, he's never, to my knowledge, fought a Division-I, high-level Division 1 wrestler. I don't think he's fought anybody who is a Division-I wrestling All-American. There's just a different breed out there.

"There's a different breed between a high school wrestler who got into mixed martial arts and stopped doing wrestling many years ago and a guy like myself, who was a Division-I wrestling All-American."

The UFC fighter insisted that his plan is to neutralise Khabib's takedown ability, but if he manages to take him down, he is "not going to hold me down."

Chandler added that he would be able to take Khabib down "unlike everybody else who has been up to fight him."

The former Bellator star explained: "The game plan against Khabib -- he's not going to take me down I don't think.

"If he takes me down, he's not going to hold me down. I'm going to be able to take him down unlike everybody else who has been up to fight him.

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"As we saw in the Khabib versus Al Iaquinta fight, when he can't take you down he starts to resort to a little bit of sporadicism, a little bit of -- he gets off his game.

"A little bit of seeds of doubt get planted in his head because he knows he doesn't have great striking, he knows his ability to win the fight is predicated on him being able to get in your face, to put you up against the cage and pick you up and hold you down.

"That's the game plan: don't get taken down. But that's everybody's game plan. So I'm going to sit here and say I won't get taken down.

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"You guys won't be able to see it until possibly October 24, or somewhere down the line. Because I will be fighting Khabib Nurmagomedov for the title in the near future. Get ready for it."

Khabib, 32, hasn't fought since he defended and unified the lightweight title against Dustin Poirier last September.

The 'Eagle' will clash with interim champ Gaethje in a unification bout at UFC 254 on 25th October.

Topics: Khabib Nurmagomedov, UFC News, MMA News, Michael Chandler, UFC, eagle, MMA

Adnan Riaz

Adnan Riaz is a journalist for SPORTbible. He studied for a B.A. in History at the University of York and followed it up with an M.A. in Multimedia Journalism at MMU. Before he started writing about sports, he spent over four years in the gaming press. He has worked for several publications, including Hardcore Gamer, LADbible and the Manchester Evening News. Follow him on Twitter to find out what he is working on next. Got a story tip for Adnan? Email him: [email protected]

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