Michael Chandler is leaning into the chaos as he prepares to face Mauricio Ruffy at UFC Freedom 250, a big UFC White House card set for Sunday, June 14th.
Chandler is scheduled to fight Ruffy outdoors at the White House and has been training in Washington D.C.-style conditions, including heat and swarms of gnats. A training video shows Chandler finishing sprints with his chest and face covered in bugs.
“Ey, we’re ready for the bugs,” Chandler said while working outside. He added, “Dana, you said there was gonna be bugs, dude? We need an exterminator out here. This is crazy. We came out here to acclimatize to the heat and got acclimated to the bugs … I didn’t notice them until halfway through and then I was like, ‘Oh there’s a few bugs here. I saw one on me and next time I looked down I had two hundred and fifty.”
Chandler arrives at UFC Freedom 250 on a rough stretch, listed as 1-5 in his last six fights and facing the possibility of a fourth straight loss and sixth loss in the UFC. He had long prepared for a fight with Conor McGregor that did not materialize, and has been described as an entertainer first and competitor second, often engaging in toe-to-toe fights.
