Michael Chandler gambled on himself and it paid off in a big way.
The three-time lightweight champion entered the Bellator 243 main event fight with Benson Henderson knowing it would be the last fight on his current deal. With the pressure mounting throughout the build to the highly anticipated rematch nearly four years in the making, Chandler delivered with a first-round knockout.
A little over two minutes after the fight began, Chandler, one of the all-time faces of Bellator MMA, became the sport’s most sought after free agent.
“I didn’t sleep for 36 hours, almost (after the fight),” Chandler told MMA Fighting while appearing on What the Heck.