Prediction for the fight Michael Chandler vs Tony Ferguson

After losing fights with Charles Oliveira and Justin Gaethje, Michael Chandler was forced to temporarily put his thoughts on the title race and focus his attention on those who are below him in the rankings. The athlete, who went the same way, losing to the champion and current challenger, Tony Ferguson, turned out to be the best solution for him.

El Cucuy has long been short of stars from the sky, and at UFC 274 he will have his last chance to jump into the top five to stay afloat and not become an exile of the best MMA promotion on the planet. The guys are definitely preparing a spectacular battle for us, but who of them has great potential to achieve victory, we will look into our forecast.

Michael Chandler vs Tony Ferguson

Michael Chandler

A former Bellator champion and lightweight tournament winner of the second-largest mixed martial arts organization, Iron Michael got his start in wrestling. He has numerous awards from university championships in his collection, and even 2nd place in the state, not counting the incalculable number of victories on the carpet. The fighter fought twice for the Bellator belt after the championship, but could not get it.

After signing with the UFC, Chandler managed to quickly become a contender for the belt, but failure awaited him there too. Nevertheless, the athlete has already fought a fight that won the “Fight of the Year” award, and a huge number of fans gather for his performances, since Michael is a sign of quality, and his fights cannot do without intrigue.

Strengths

Of the 22 victories, 17 times "Iron" did it by knockouts or submissions, and so far, he wins fights that way. A physically gifted and really experienced athlete crossed in himself an avid grunt and a professional wrestler, as a result becoming an ideal machine for neutralizing opponents.

Despite the minimal use of the ground floor in recent performances, Michael at the right time can turn on wrestling and BJJ to disarm his opponent. In this case, the power struggle is combined with various kinds of seizures, but often, after control and taking an advantageous position, he prefers to carry out suffocating techniques.

Preempting Chandler is not an easy task. He can take massive damage and still be active. The same Geydzhi, despite the presence of knockout power in his hands, could not turn off his opponent, even after heavy hits.

Weaknesses

Arranging a show in every fight, Michael exhausts himself by the 3rd round. If at the start it is not easy to survive his pressure, then by the third five-minute period the athlete moves on to work as the second number and uses only single blows, completely turning off the head protection.

For all his physical prowess and wrestling background, Chandler has one of the lowest transfer success rates. Only a third of all attempts are effective, however, again, this only happens in battles with the opposition, a level lower than himself.

The current form and readiness of the fighter

Michael is 36 years old and is one of the oldest fighters in the lightweight category. He enters the fight after two losses in a row, to Charles Oliveira and Justin Gaethje, before having 3 victories on his account, including triumphs in fights with Benson Henderson and Dan Hooker. A downtime of 7 months allowed him to recover from the war with Highlight, however, we do not expect any progress from Chandler, more importantly, that the damage experienced does not cause accelerated physical degradation.

Michael Chandler vs Tony Ferguson

Tony Ferguson

The former interim UFC lightweight champion earned the right to compete in the big leagues with a victory at The Ultimate Fighter 13, where El Cukuy's prowess was only gaining momentum. Once in the promotion roster, he began to hone his skills, cracking down on all the top opposition of his time, while earning bonuses for the bloodiest confrontations, as well as unique moves.

Having dealt with peaks Edson Barboza and Rafael dos Anjos, Tony made it clear that his non-trivial style, even in fights with elite guys, works flawlessly. However, now, without exaggeration, the veteran is not able to compete with younger talents, gradually becoming part of the history of the division up to 70 kg.

Strengths

Watching Ferguson fights since TUF, it looks like this guy has a demon that comes out as soon as the doors of the octagon close. He does everything to injure his opponent, using any tools for this, and as soon as he sees blood, a smile appears on his face.

On the stand, everyone will envy the El Cucuy arsenal. He hits not just with all the limbs, but with every joint that has sharp corners. Elbows in all directions, knees, various kicks and boxing performed by Tony is an art. Even now, he is able to surprise experienced opponents with his homemade preparations.

Despite not the best level of struggle, Ferguson is very good in BJJ. He gets out of the most difficult situations and counterattacks, again using non-standard techniques for this, due to which the opponents simply do not have time to prepare for defensive actions.

I think everyone remembers how the master of jiu-jitsu, Charles Oliveira, tried to tear off Tony's arm. The position was perfect, all angles were respected, he writhed in pain, but did not give up. Dariusz wanted to do something similar to the leg - the result was identical. This guy is ready to endure anything, and almost no one can force him to capitulate.

Weaknesses

For all his uniqueness and high fighting spirit, Tony is not able to compete with the wrestlers who are currently at the top of the division. They can't finish it, but they control it quite easily, and the former interim champion has no answer to lying down.

Even at the time of his peak form, Ferguson managed to fly into knockdowns even from beginners. He moves a lot, confuses the opponent, waving his arms in front of his face, but all this does not have a reliable protective foundation. The fighter's jaw is "open to suggestions", and it is realistic to declassify him in the standing position, if not led by provocations.

The current form and readiness of the fighter

Old Tony is already 38 years old, and a series of defeats of 3 fights, prepares for the fact that he is unlikely to have anything in the elite ranks of the light weight category. Justin Gaethje, Oliveira and Beneil Dariush delivered dominating performances that left no questions asked. Ferguson was idle for a year, he survived many hard fights and is now on the verge of athletic old age. I would like to believe in the triumphant return of El Cukuy, but he is being slipped into opposition, which leaves practically no chance for victory.

Comparative analysis

As before, let's start with dimensions and anthropometry. Ferguson has a noticeable superiority in this aspect, who is 7.5 cm taller than his opponent, and in terms of reach he pulls ahead by almost 13 cm. However, Michael will have a total advantage in muscle mass and physical strength, and in addition, a low center of gravity. This will give him the ability to easily defend himself against transfers, unlike the lanky Tony, who is not a problem to knock down.

It would seem that due to the longer limbs, the creative "El Cucuy" will be able to offer something to Chandler, but in the overall standings, a heavier blow and work as the first number, along with the ability to instantly close the distance, will allow the former Bellator champion to take more episodes in your piggy bank. From long range, Ferguson will throw front kicks and also charge with elbows on the approach, but his current level of striking has noticeably dipped compared to previous years. On the ground floor, Michael will have nothing to offer at all, because he fights with dignity, and will be able to arrange a fuss, as was the case in Tony's two previous fights.

Both skillfully defend themselves from submissions, so you can expect an early end of the meeting in this way only in the final round, when both will slow down. By the way, one could bet on Ferguson's cardio, only now it is no longer as legendary as it used to be. What do we have as a result? In the stand, combat power is on Chandler's side, he loves to cut, so everything can be very interesting there. If it comes to the stalls, Tony will not do well there, no matter how much he would like to think about the opposite. For this reason, optionally, Iron Michael looks fresher, and its current form only widens this gap.

Michael Chandler vs Tony Ferguson Fight Prediction

There are no prerequisites for waiting for something other than a notch in a cage. The guys like to fight spectacularly, and will be able to measure their strength on their hands, since Chandler is more direct, Tony will have moments for spectacular attacks. And, perhaps, it is on his feet that the ex-champion has the best chances to develop success, because the last time he scored a victory on the ground was in 2016, and even then over Okay Vannata. A lot of things play against Ferguson here: his jaw, age, losing streak and so on. That is why it is worth considering the victory of Michael Chandler, who has every chance of sending Tony to a sports pension. Will it be an early quiz? Given that the fight will last 3 rounds, it is unlikely, although MMA is interesting because the most unexpected things happen here. Install the 1xbet app and place a bet on the favorite!

Prediction: Michael Chandler to win

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