Quotes from Michael Chandler

Life throws you curveballs and there are things that happen - you don't understand why they happened at the time. But then you step back and understand you're a better fighter and competitor because of the things that happened.

Benson Henderson is a guy that I fought before. He has two arms and two legs. He has certain patterns, mannerisms and tendencies that I know I can go out there and exploit.

Bellator has taken care of me, and I've taken care of them. It's been the perfect storm of a symbiotic relationship - them having an asset they were not willing to lose, and me being in a situation where the grass isn't always greener on the other side.

I never focus on my opponent - I focus more on myself: knowing what my strengths are, where I can take the fight, how I can win the fight, and the intensity that I'm going to bring to a fight.

I'm just blessed that fighting was an option. Now I'm doing it and I love it. I thank God every day that I'm in the sport.

I actually have a tattoo on the left side of my chest that says 'Blessed.' It represents how blessed I've been in my life and how thankful I am for all that I have.

I had so much growing up and I'm so thankful for all the people who invested in my life.

I don't focus on how I'm gonna get the finish or how I would like to get the finish. I focus on just my game plan that I've gone over with myself, my coaches. If the finish comes it comes.

My body is durable, my body is able to withstand a lot of practices, a lot of punishment.

Obviously, beating Alvarez was the first step to getting my name out there. Now people now know who I am and see, at least in some part, that I'm the real deal.

I'm going to stash up my cash and invest in real estate. I want to be set up for the end of fighting.

Somebody with a huge brand like Bellator under an even huger brand like Viacom, to have them put their faith in me, to put me in so many things, to put me in commercials, send me to all these events, and just to continue to put me in the cage with great talent, it's great.

The greatest thing about fighting a guy like Dave Rickels: He always comes to fight.

I'm a force to be reckoned with.

There are a lot of people who don't believe I deserve to be recognized as one of the top-10 best and I don't necessarily disagree with them.

I didn't have to fight. I chose to fight. I believe God put me on this Earth to be able to do this and do it at a high level.

You don't hope to go up and hit a single. You go up and hope to hit a home run.

There are always a ton of different people to learn from and people that are pushing me to get better.

Life is too short and too sweet to complain about the silly things.

Obviously, as a young, young, hungry fighter, I'd like to be fighting three or four times a year.

There's still times I wish I could throw on the black and gold singlet and go out there in the Hearnes Center and wrestle for the Missouri Tigers. I miss that and I miss the stuff about college wrestling.

Growing up as a wrestler, especially in practice, I think you get used to competing without much of a crowd around.

I was never an upper body wrestler. I am a shooter.

I just think that with my wrestling background there's not going to be any doubt in my mind that if I have to go through a three round war that in the third round I'm gonna be more fresh, more tenacious, I'm gonna want that win more than anybody else I'm going to have to fight.