"I said yes to an opportunity"- Michael Chandler reveals that he was in talks of a fight at UFC 258

In a recent interview with Ariel Helwani, Michael Chandler revealed that the UFC contacted him to compete in his second consecutive UFC event. After a successful debut at UFC 257, Chandler had a phone call and was asked by the promotion if he was willing to compete within the next few weeks.

With no names thrown into the hat, Michael Chandler agreed to take the fight but knew that the bout would be against someone ranked ahead of him. That someone eventually turned out to be Brazilian lightweight contender Charles Oliveira.

"I said 'yes' to an opportunity. I had a phone call, which just said 'would you be willing to fight the next couple of weeks?' And I said yes. There's a big pay-per-view coming up, I said yes to it. I knew I didn't have any names being thrown around necessarily but I knew, that it would be by process of elimination. Somebody ranked ahead of me."

Ariel Helwani would go on to ask Michael Chandler if the fight was still happening or not. To which, the former Bellator lightweight champion responded by merely stating that the fight is not happening.

Here is what Michael Chandler had to say in regards to him possibly fighting at UFC 258:

.@MikeChandlerMMA told @arielhelwani he agreed to fight a top lightweight at UFC 258, but "it did not come to fruition" due to the potential opponent "saying no." pic.twitter.com/RGsg7ZV01K

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) February 1, 2021

Michael Chandler is already one of the top contenders of the UFC's lightweight division

At UFC 257, Michael Chandler made a bold statement following his win over Dan Hooker in the co-main event of the pay-per-view. After his win, Iron called out Khabib Nurmagomedov, Dustin Poirier, and Conor McGregor.

URGENTE: UFC oferece luta contra Michael Chandler para Charles 'Do Bronx' no dia 13 de fevereiro. Mais informações em instantes no site da Ag Fight.

— Ag. Fight (@AgFight) February 1, 2021

However, it did seem as if the UFC was interested in booking Chandler to fight against Charles Oliveira. While the Chandler didn't reveal any names of the opponent who was in discussion, a report from AgFight suggested that Chandler and Do Bronx were in talks of a fight.

With the UFC 258 co-main event between Chris Weidman and Uriah Hall falling apart, Michael Chandler was ready to step up and take the lightweight division by storm again against the ever-dangerous Charles Oliveira.