After a long and accomplished career in Bellator, Michael Chandler made his UFC debut at UFC 257. The former Bellator lightweight champion knocked out Dan Hooker, making an emphatic statement. However, he fell short against Charles Oliveira in his bid to become the UFC Lightweight Champion in just his second appearance under the UFC banner.
While Chandler would go on to drop another loss against Justin Gaethje next, the performance earned him the respect of fight fans around the world for treating us with a Fight of the Year candidate.
Though Michael Chandler has had a decorated MMA career so far there have been some questions surrounding his accomplishments. And one of them has been whether Michael Chandler has used PEDs in his MMA career.
Michael Chandler is one of the most explosive guys in the UFC lightweight division. He has always been an explosive fighter throughout his career. At the age of 35, Chandler has an insane physique. He has big knock-out power as well. And all these signs have made some fans believe that Chandler is definitely on some PEDs.
Recently, Khabib Nurmagomedov’s manager said that Michael Chandler will not be able to perform well in the UFC since he will get tested by USADA. Rizvan Magomedov said:
“Great fighter. But do not except much. Chandler with USADA is not the same fighter. We all saw Will Brooks in UFC.”
Apart from him, the Bellator featherweight champion, Patricio Pitbull has also accused Chandler of being on steroids. In an interview with MMA fighting, Pitbull stated:
“In my opinion, they [work with the same people], they’re training partners, and he could be doing the same thing as T.J. Because imagine T.J.’s being tested by USADA and he’s in trouble now possibly for adverse findings — imagine Michael Chandler, who’s not even tested at all, imagine what he could be on.
“He’s not young anymore, and as he gets older, he keeps getting more ripped and getting more stronger and he looks more like a bodybuilder than a fighter.”
Michael Chandler has been accused of being on steroids by many fans, media persons, and fighters. However, there is absolutely no proof of Chandler using illegal substances in his career. He has been a freak athlete since the beginning. Going into his college wrestling days, Chandler was highly athletic and he had a good physique as well. Though he is more ripped than some of the other UFC lightweights such as Dustin Poirier or Conor McGregor it should not indicate that he is on steroids.
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What does Michael Chandler have to say about the steroid accusations?
Michael Chandler has openly responded to these steroid accusations in the past. Leading up to his fight with Dan Hooker, Michael Chandler was happy that he was finally being tested by USADA, which would put all the criticism to rest.
In an interview with MMA fighting, Chandler responded to steroid accusations and said:
“There’s absolutely no validity whatsoever,” Chandler said. “I’ve never touched a performance-enhancing drug. The good thing is, I can sit back and see the accusations and see the things people say. Any sane person would say that’s a feather in my cap: ‘You obviously look so good or you’re such a conditioned athlete that people accuse you of those kinds of things.’ For him to say that, I don’t really understand where his basis is. All he’s ever said is ‘I think he’s using them’ or ‘He is using them.’”
At the end of the day, it’s the media’s job to take what athlete say or what certain talent says and put it into print or put into the internet,” Chandler said. “That’s their job. Could they pick and chose their headlines differently? Of course, because clickbait is a real thing. It’s unfortunate because I have so much confidence in myself that I am 100 percent and I know I am 100 percent clean that I wish I was in an organization.”
Read More: How much did Michael Chandler earn for his UFC debut against Dan Hooker?
Now we have seen a lot of fighters struggling in the octagon after USADA started testing UFC fighters. However, Michael Chandler looked impressive on his UFC debut. And now that Chandler is being tested by USADA, it’s very likely that fans will stop accusing him of being on steroids.
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