Michael Chandler Shuts Down Potential Patricio Freire Rematch in UFC

Michael Chandler has no plans to revisit his past rivalry with Patricio Freire now that both are competing in the UFC.

Freire, a former two-division Bellator champion, recently signed with the promotion and will make his debut at UFC 314 against Yair Rodriguez. On the same card, Chandler is set to take on the fast-rising Paddy Pimblett in a high-profile co-main event.

Despite their history—where Freire took the Bellator lightweight title from Chandler in 2019 with a first-round TKO—Chandler made it clear he has no desire to rekindle any feud.

“Yeah, not interested in relitigating anything, man,” Chandler told CBS Sports. “I’m not a guy who tries to get anything back, and also I’m not a type of guy who likes to have any animosity. Obviously, I knocked his brother out almost twice, definitely knocked him out once pretty bad. I think there was a miscommunication there with the language barrier.”

Chandler also reflected on a past misunderstanding between them, stating that Freire may have misinterpreted a comment he made about his family, which escalated their feud unnecessarily.

“I said something about family because of his brother, and then I think he interpreted that as mom, wife, sister, brother, kids, and all that, and I think it got blown out of proportion to be honest with you. With that being said, I wish him the best in the UFC. I want him to come over and do well.”

Freire, on the other hand, has hinted at still holding resentment toward Chandler. However, the former Bellator lightweight champion remains unfazed.

“He’s a 145’er, I’m a 155’er, I’ve got no interest in fighting Patricio ‘Pitbull,’ but it’ll be interesting to share the same card with him,” Chandler said. “And when I do see him, I will shake his hand respectfully, might even apologize for the miscommunications in the past. Let’s let bygones be bygones. You don’t need to spend any of your energy on me. Focus on trying to become the featherweight champion of the UFC.”