"I want him to love fiercely" - Michael Chandler opens up on fatherhood in hard-hitting, inspirational podcast

UFC lightweight contender Michael Chandler has been very vocal about his life as a father. The former Bellator MMA lightweight champion is the father to a young son named Hap Whitaker.

In a recent interview, Michael Chandler talked about his experience of raising a son and how he approaches the journey of fatherhood. Speaking to Alec Lace on the First Class Fatherhood podcast, Chandler said:

"I want him to love fiercely. I want him to be a leader in his generation, stand up for what is right, safeguard the helpless. Do the right thing even when it's the hard thing to do. Be a man of good character, a man of good reputation. You know, these are the things that I've tried to build my life on. I fail all the time, but continue to try to be a better man every single day. I want my son to see this masterpiece that I'm painting, through the ups and through the downs and through the struggles and through the wins and through the losses and how I carry myself through it all."

Watch the clip below:

Who’s ready for #UFCVegas34?Here’s UFC fighter and First Class Father MICHAEL CHANDLER talking about raising his son to be a leader in his generation Listen to my full interview with @MikeChandlerMMA on #FirstClassFatherhood pic.twitter.com/0Z7GQY2FvF

— First Class Fatherhood 🎙 (@AlecLace) August 21, 2021

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Michael Chandler's journey into fatherhood

Michael Chandler and his wife and Brie Willet adopted young Hap in 2018 when he was nine months old.

"We wanted a newborn to six months. It’s just funny how you have your preferences and you have your plans and then all of a sudden God just says, nope. He was nine months old. They sent us his picture, and as soon as I saw it I got this feeling inside of me, and I started tearing up. I was just like: 'That's my son" said Michael Chandler in an interview with MMA Fighting.

Thanks to lengthy legal requirements, Chandler and Brie had to wait for months to be eligible to adopt a child. When the pair finally qualified, it only took six minutes for them to catch a glimpse of the boy who would be their first child.

“We didn’t even get over the reaction of settling into the idea of, holy cow, we’re now active, we’re now allowed to adopt... it was all of a sudden six minutes go by and we get that phone call," said Michael Chandler.