The Story Behind Michael Chandler’s Nickname- ‘Iron’

Michael Chandler is arguably one of the biggest free-agent signings the UFC has seen in recent years. The former multiple-time Bellator lightweight champion built a solid legacy before signing with the world’s premier MMA organization. Although Chandler’s record is 2-3 in the UFC, he has never given us a boring fight in the promotion. Fans do wonder, though, if Michael Chandler will ever realize UFC gold, especially in the twilight of his career. One striking thing about Michael Chandler is his fight moniker which mirrors that of a legend in a different sport.

Being called ‘Iron’ inside the Octagon, most fans draw comparisons to boxing legend Mike Tyson, who happens to have the same nickname. Apart from their exciting in-ring personas, do these two entities have a connection? Let’s find out!

Does Michael Chandler’s nickname have a connection with Mike Tyson?

To understand more about Michael Chandler’s mindset, we have to look at the inspiration for his fighter nickname. Michael Chandler’s moniker ‘Iron Mike’ is indeed an homage to boxing icon ‘Iron’ Mike Tyson. The genesis of Chandler’s nickname came about after his win over Eddie Alvarez for the Bellator lightweight championship in 2011. The former undisputed WBC heavyweight champion was in the vicinity for an autograph signing, and Chandler stopped by.

“Tyson gave me some advice,” Chandler said. “He just said, ‘Champ, it’s easy coming up. Then as soon as you get the belt and everyone’s gunning for you, every single person’s looking at you, they’re waking up, thinking about fighting you, they’re going to bed, thinking about fighting you. You’ve got this big target on your back. That should motivate you. You’ve got to do things right. You’ve got to work hard.”

Michael Chandler has proudly carried the moniker ever since. What’s more, is the exciting style and power Chandler brings to the Octagon which certainly draws parallels to Tyson. UFC fans got to witness it firsthand when he knocked Dan Hooker out at UFC 257, and Tony Ferguson with a front-kick at UFC 274.

But is there more to Michael Chandler than just a shared moniker shared with a boxing legend? Let’s dig a little deeper and uncover the man behind ‘Iron’ Michael Chandler.

Other interesting facts about Michael Chandler

The 38-year-old mixed martial artist was born and raised in Missouri, the second among four siblings. Displaying his athletic ability as a high-schooler, and receiving multiple honor rolls in high school football from Northwest High School, he enrolled at the University of Missouri where he embarked on a stellar NCAA Division-1 wrestling run. Unlike many athletes, Chandler didn’t have an athletic scholarship when he joined the university. Regardless, he entered his institute’s wrestling team and amassed 100 career wins by the time he was a senior.

‘Iron Mike’ went on to attain a degree in Personal Finance Management Services, while graduating from university as a D-1 wrestler. In 2009, 23-year-old Michael Chandler embarked on his professional MMA career. What’s striking about Chandler is that he opted to skip the amateur circuit to jump into professional fighting, very reminiscent of when he joined the UFC and was only given difficult opponents from the deep end of the lightweight division.

In his fourth fight, Michael Chandler made his Bellator debut and went on one of the greatest runs that promotion has ever seen. While at Bellator, he beat the likes of Benson Henderson and Eddie Alvarez, two former UFC lightweight champions. As much as we know ‘Iron Mike’ inside the Octagon, his fighting heart transcends beyond mixed martial arts.

This was evident when Chandler met a 7-year-old cancer patient, named Robbie Chandler. He was utterly distressed when the young Chandler lost his battle with cancer two weeks after their interaction. Opening up to Bleacher Report on the incident, Chandler said, “I really have a heart for children who suffer from cancer. I can’t imagine having to go through that at such a young age. So, I decided that I wanted to play a part in their process and come up with a way to get their mind off what was going on in their life even if it was in the smallest way.”

The moment had such a profound effect on ‘Iron Mike’ that he founded ‘Blessed Threads’, an organization that helps ease the pain of children suffering from cancer. The organization sells ‘Blessed’ T-shirts, the proceeds of which go towards the care of children suffering from cancer. ‘Iron’ himself quoted that for every shirt sold, the organization makes a donation to the Friends of Kids with Cancer foundation.

With such a storied career, Michael Chandler is all set to rematch Charles Oliveira at UFC 309. Do you think Chandler can defeat Oliveira this time around? Will he live up to his shared moniker with Mike Tyson and do the boxing legend proud on November 15th? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.