‘Accustomed to Setbacks & Pain’ Michael Chandler Reflects on His Heartbreaking UFC 281 Loss With a Muhammad Ali Quote

Whenever Michael Chandler enters the cage, the fireworks are a sure sight and fans can bet the fight to go violent. Carrying with himself a reputation as a violent knockout artist, the prolific fighter marked his UFC debut at UFC 257. While his UFC record might portray a different picture, ‘Iron’ has already put in some memorable performances. However, the lightweight fighter’s latest setback pulled him away from a shot at the title.

Similarly, describing his UFC 281 loss experience in his recent video, the American fighter found solace in one of Muhammad Ali’s quotes.

Chandler referred to Muhammad Ali’s quote, which dated back to 1971. The legendary boxer uttered, after his decision-loss to Joe Frazier, “It’s a good feeling to lose. The people who follow you are going to lose, too. You got to set an example of how to lose. This way, they can see how I lose.”

What did Michael Chandler say in the video?

Following this, the former Bellator fighter mentioned that one would collect scars, as one could easily spot on his face. Also, the scars would be both physical, external, and internal scars. Further, Chandler claimed, “I sit here today as a man who just failed a man who threw himself into the fire.”

While the fighter had a great opportunity, platform, and a great crowd of witnesses, he fell short. In addition, the 36-year-old fighter mentioned that while he didn’t get his hand raised, he still felt that he was winning.

“I feel like I’m winning because I have come grown so accustomed to setbacks and pain and failure knowing that those things those feelings those, those milestones in my life albeit not great milestones are turning me into and growing me into, forcing me into the man that I am supposed to become,” the 23-8 record holder added further.

Afterward, in the same video, the Missouri-born fighter stated that in his line of work, i.e., MMA, the stakes were high. Besides, the pain was plenty and danger was ever present. However, it made the chaotic fighter feel alive.

The #5 lightweight fighter pointed out that things were still working despite his record adding one loss and onlookers calling falling short. At the same time, Chandler claimed that he felt like he had become a better man because of the loss.

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Lastly, the Nashville MMA product declared that, even though he failed on November 12th, he was not a failure. Chandler thus reasoned and concluded, “Because failure is an event, not a person.”

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