Michael Chandler Kids: How Many Children Does He & Brie Chandler Have?

Not too long ago, Michael Chandler found himself trapped in a controversy. No, it wasn’t anything about his time inside the Octagon. But the former Bellator FC lightweight champion found himself in trouble for his comments on ‘raising children’. Intrigued? You’ve come to the right spot!

But first, we need to take a look at his family. How many children did the 38-year-old lightweight contender adopt? Let’s find out!

How many kids has Michael Chandler adopted?

Michael Chandler and his wife Brie Willet decided to adopt children instead of going the conception route, and they have two sons: 8-year-old Hap Chandler and 3-year-old Ace Chandler. He had previously revealed how his wife had always wanted to adopt a baby. Willet’s earlier experiences with orphan children were the main motivation for her to take this step. 

Chandler had narrated, “For us, once we got through all the paperwork, and the background checks, and the criminal background checks, and the financial background checks, and the medical background checks and all the fingerprinting, once we finally got all that done, we got an email that said, ‘Congratulations, you’re now active,’ and then six minutes later, we got a phone call.”

’Iron’ revealed previously that he wanted the baby to be 6 months old, but his son was 9 months old. However, he graciously accepted God’s blessing and uploaded a picture with his son and wife. They met the birth mother and connected with her. But what about his biological children? Does he have any? If not, why?

Does Michael Chandler have kids of his own?

Michael Chandler does not have any biological children. ‘Iron’ Mike revealed in a podcast that his wife always wanted to adopt children, so they never decided to have biological kids. He said, “My wife has wanted to adopt an African-American boy since she was a teenager. My wife has had that on her heart since she was a teenager.” He also narrated how she used to do inner-city mission work and go to Jamaica on mission trips with her father.

On 31 March 2025, the couple welcomed their daughter, Dru Miller Chandler, into their beautiful world. Brie Chandler took to Instagram to celebrate and thank the gestational carrier. The caption to the post read, “thank you Jesus for another sweet baby to love on. it takes a special human to carry another’s embryo – so thank you Blair for your selflessness and the wonderful woman you are.” But do you know why the power couple decided to adopt instead of conceive? 

Why did Michael & Brie Chandler decide to adopt children?

Brie Chandler previously said that when she married a good man, she would like to adopt a baby. The couple welcomed their first baby in 2017 before adopting their second son in 2022. For ‘Iron’ Mike, being a person of good character is the most important, and that is what he teaches his children. However, despite his good deed, Chandler received a lot of backlash for commenting about ‘not raising Black children’ in an interview.

He said, “I’m not raising black children, I’m raising children… Whether you are Black or you are white, no matter what race that you are, there are certain things about being a man and being a good man when it comes to character and integrity and safeguarding the helpless, and sticking up for those who need it.” However, this caused an uproar by people who claimed that being blind to color doesn’t actually solve discrimination. This prompted Chandler to respond to the controversy and clear the air.

Chandler stood by his comment and spoke about it in an interview with Shawn Ryan. He retaliated to the backlash in The Pivot podcast, saying that one little phrase was clipped from his whole discussion. ‘Iron’ Mike further explained that the soundbite could easily be taken out of context, but when you look deeper into it, his main point was that their skin color isn’t the most important aspect of who they are.

The ‘Iron’ wanted to convey that they were not raising their children on the grounds of skin color or other characteristics but on the virtues of being a good human. Chandler also expressed that he planned on discussing the aspects of heritage and race when the pair were older. Another thing that fans were curious was about why they adopted children. He said, “Obviously, part of it, too, is if I would have done that interview and my sons were 14 and 11, it’s a little bit different… I’ve got a 2-year-old, and I’ve got a 7-year-old. So maybe that question being answered to me five years from now or … you know, my son Hap now is 7, so, we’re getting toward that direction.”

While Chandler’s approach might have stirred some debate, there is no denying that he remains committed to instilling strong moral principles in his kids. Michael Chandler is truly an amazing fighter and a father. And as he gets ready to land against Paddy Pimblett at UFC 314, we might just see Chandler standing strong for his kids. After all, he’s teaching his children in the best possible way, and let’s see, maybe they will continue their dad and mom’s legacy!