Two fighters that have somewhat similar style, both are fan friendly that always guarantees a banger. Justin Gaethje has been called the human highlight for a reason mainly because he always puts on a show for the fans. As for Chandler, he may only have two fights in the UFC, but usually delivers fireworks win or lose.
During Gaethje’s rise to the UFC, all of his fights had fight bonuses that it is hard not to say he is one of the most exciting fighters to watch right now. It is worth noting that Gaethje was a NCAA Division 1 wrestling which means that his wrestling as elite as they come, but Gaethje rarely uses his wrestling and would rather strike then bore the fans to a decision win.
In his early fights, Gaethje had that style where he would brawl with his opponent until one of them goes down in the later rounds, it was mainly because Gaethje aimed to please the fans rather win the fight. Gaethje then changed his style to a more technical approach which later resulted in him finishing his opponents in the early parts of the fight. It also benefited him since he would suffer little to no injuries.
Michael Chandler may have lost against Charles Oliveira but he almost closed the show in the last minute of the first round. It was just that Oliveira showed tremendous heart and Chandler got clipped in the second that he wasn’t able to recover. It was one of the most exciting back n forth title fight in quite a while. The momentum shifted in the very next round.
Chandler is also a D1 wrestler, but he uses his wrestling more compared to Gaethje. Although like Gaethje, Chandler also has that knockout power that could end the night with one strike. Chandler knocked out a durable Dan Hooker and almost finished Oliveira, his power is as legit as they come.
Both fighters are coming off a title fight loss, so it would make sense for the UFC to book the fight. It is clearly the fight to make right now. Had the vacant lightweight title booked, the UFC originally planned to make the Chandler vs Gaethje fight.
