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\u201cIron\u201d Mike is ready to go.<\/p>\n
Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Lightweight title challenger Michael Chandler<\/strong> returns to action against Brazilian knockout artist Mauricio Ruffy<\/strong> at UFC Freedom 250<\/a> this weekend (Sun., June 14, 2026) on the White House\u2019s South Lawn<\/a> in Washington, D.C., to celebrate America\u2019s 250th anniversary<\/a>.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Chandler finds himself as the biggest betting underdog<\/a> on the historic card against one of the hottest prospects in the sport<\/a>, but all of that \u201cnoise\u201d does not matter to the former Bellator champion.<\/p>\n Especially because Chandler believes he and Ruffy are cut from completely different cloths.<\/p>\n \u201cI see him as a guy who probably grew up watching mixed martial arts on TV and watching highlights on YouTube, and he wanted to be a certain type of fighter,\u201d Chandler said during UFC Freedom 250 media day. \u201cI\u2019m a walk-on at the University of Missouri. I\u2019m a wrestler. I\u2019m a nonstop, in-your-face grinder type of guy. I\u2019ve earned every single thing and fought for every single thing I\u2019ve accomplished in the sport. That\u2019s not to take anything away from him; we just have two different styles.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m a hammer that is looking for a nail, and he looks like he\u2019s playing a video game out there,\u201d Chandler added. \u201cSo when the waters get deep, the going gets tough, and the oxygen gets sucked out of the Octagon \u2014 when the big shot lands and I just shake it off and look you straight in the eyes, and I\u2019m coming to snatch your soul, where is he going to be? I think we\u2019ve seen that in the past.\u201d<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Chandler has always been great at talking and promoting a fight, but he also knows he badly needs a win.<\/p>\n The 40-year-old Lightweight has lost three straight fights<\/a> and is currently 2-5 inside the Octagon. Granted, those losses have come against the absolute elite of the division<\/a>, but at some point, moral victories and \u201cFight of the Night\u201d wars stop being enough.<\/p>\n