David Larsen 
@adminUFC lightweights Michael Chandler and Justin Gaethje will face each other and settle their rivalry in the octagon at UFC 268 which will be taking place in New York in November. Both the fighter are coming off losses after they both failed to capture the UFC lightweight championship in their last bouts. The fight will most probably be taking place on November 6. The event has no official location but is being targeted for Madison Square Garden in New York.
“Ohhhh boy. Here we go, folks. Gaethje (@Justin_Gaethje). Chandler (@MikeChandlerMMA). Verbally agreed, per sources. UFC 268 PPV. No official date or venue for that PPV just yet, but the target is Nov. 6, Madison Square Garden.”
Also recently UFC president Dana White told ESPN’s Brett Okamoto that UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman will defend his title against his arch-rival Colby Covington at UFC 268. The duo will fight in their rematch after Usman stopped Covington in their first fight at UFC 245. They will be headling the UFC 268 even at MSG in November.
Micahel Chandler vs Justin Gaethje
Michael Chandler made his promotional debut against Dan Hooker at UFC 257. He won the fight via technical knockout in the first round. This win earned him the Performance of the Night award.
Chandler faced long–time veteran Charles Oliveira for the vacant UFC Lightweight Championship, following former champion Khabib Nurmagomedov’s retirement, while headlining UFC 262. Although he managed to hurt Oliveira in the first round, he lost the fight via technical knockout in the second round.
In his last fight, Justin Gaethje fought in a unification bout for the UFC Lightweight Championship against Khabib Nurmagomedov on October 24, 2020, at UFC 254. He lost the fight via technical submission due to triangle choke in the second round, marking the first submission loss in his mixed martial arts career.
The duo has been going back and forth on social media and has been calling out each other.
“Gaethje should be next. There’s no doubt about it,” Chandler said this on an Instagram live chat. “There is no secret [Makhachev] and Gaethje both share the same management, so obviously that management would want to say, ‘Hey, throw Islam on the trail. Throw Islam on the Chandler trail so that it takes the heat off of Gaethje.’
“But Justin Gaethje: Come on, bro. You call yourself a fighter, and you are — you’re one of the most exciting guys in mixed martial arts. And be prepared to make a highlight or be made a highlight, because that’s what I am. That’s what I’m ready to do.”
“I’ll tell you what, I’ve said Justin Gaethje’s name no less than 100 times since I’ve signed with the organization,” Chandler said. “He’s been asked to fight me three or four different times. Every time he’s declined. We have ranked two spots away from each other, He has not fought since last October. He needs to get a fight in if he thinks he’s going to fight for the title. For some reason, he and his camp have no interest in fighting me.
“So that’s the fight I want, that’s the fight I think it should be. Two of the best guys fighting. It’s also a fight that I know the fans want to see. I know that’s a fight you guys want to see, so that’s my hope, that’s my thought. And I don’t really get why we haven’t heard anything yet.”
Justin Gaethje didn’t spend any time while responding to these statements by Chandler and he tweeted reagrding the same stating that he is ready to fight.
“[Michael Chandler] is talking out of his ass,” Gaethje posted on Twitter. “I was waiting for the bout agreement 3 weeks into camp and wake up to news his daddy Dana gave him the shot. He’s been out of commission since the KO. What am I missing? I’m on vacay and this f*cker is slandering my name. 3-4 times?”
But right after this exchange UFC has announced that they have listened to both of these fighters and have made their fight official.
The current UFC 268 Card:
- Champ Kamaru Usman vs. Colby Covington – for the welterweight title
- Michael Chandler vs. Justin Gaethje
