Chael Sonnen believes Michael Chandler is heading into a potential career crossroads when he faces Mauricio Ruffy at UFC Freedom 250 on June 14 at The White House.
Chandler, a former Bellator champion and ex-UFC title challenger, is scheduled to meet Ruffy in a bout Sonnen has framed as a must-win. Chandler enters the fight with a 23-10 MMA record and a 2-5 mark in the UFC, while Ruffy holds a 13-2 MMA record and is 3-1 in the promotion.
Sonnen suggested that a loss to Ruffy could push Chandler toward retirement, saying, "Yes, he likely will (retire), and I don't know that it will be necessarily his choice," and adding, "Should he lose a fight, that would probably be a point in Chandler's career. Chandler's one of those guys that still wants to be a world champion. So if he gets confronted with, look, that's just not in your future. At 38 years old and coming off this defeat, that is not in your future. I predict he likely would say, 'Fair enough, give my spot to somebody else.'"
Chandler is currently on a three-fight losing streak, with defeats to Dustin Poirier, Charles Oliveira, and Paddy Pimblett at UFC 314. He has not won a fight since knocking out Tony Ferguson in May 2022, with his only other UFC victory coming via first-round TKO over Dan Hooker in January 2021.
