"Michael Chandler whipped his a**!" - Chael Sonnen says 'Iron' was "less than one second" away from winning title fight against Charles Oliveira 

Michael Chandler's criticism of lightweight title contender Islam Makhachev's "premature praise" has sparked an intriguing debate in the MMA community. The latest entrant to chime in on the same is former UFC middleweight fighter Chael Sonnen.

Chandler's comments were met with a strong response from Makhachev and his team, who reminded the American of his turbulent run in the UFC.

Check out the tweet below:

Taking the ongoing discussion into account, Chael Sonnen put forward his views on the entire episode. 'The American Gangster' claimed that a case can be made for Chandler's point, who in his opinion was extremely close to beating Charles Oliveira at UFC 262:

"Lightweight has a champion and his name is Charles Oliveira. Okay, good enough, I'm not saying that you're wrong for saying that. I think you're being nice and supportive. I understand the whole thing. Michael Chandler whipped his a**!"

Sonnen added:

"You're saying Michael Chandler is down here and Oliveira is here, Michael Chandler whipped his a**. He was one punch in a middle of a scramble, well less than one second away from the referee stoping that [the fight] and giving him the win."

Interestingly, the 45-year-old also spoke from Makhachev's perspective, stating that his annoyance towards Chandler's comments could be justified by keeping the Dagestani's impressive 10-fight win streak in mind.

Watch the video from the 3:20 mark below:

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Michael Chandler predicts the winner of Charles Oliveira vs. Islam Makhachev

Michael Chandler fought Charles Oliveira for the vacant lightweight throne at UFC 262 on May 15, 2021 at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas.

The American managed to hurt Oliveira with a thunderous right hand in the first round. However, he was clipped with a picture-perfect left hook from 'do Bronx' in the second round before the Brazilian followed up with a barrage of punches to finish the fight.

The former three-time Bellator MMA lightweight champion offered his prediction for the upcoming fight between Charles Oliveira and Islam Makhachev at UFC 280 to determine the lightweight champion.

Speaking with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, 'Iron' said:

"I think Charles wins that fight. I think it's crazy that Islam is a favorite. He's looked very, very good. Finishing guys, his hands have come a long, long way. He's in everybody's eyes the champion for a reason, and I think he goes out there and beats Islam handily."

Watch the interview with Chandler below: