Tony Ferguson says Michael Chandler benefits from ‘Dana White privilege’

Former Bellator lightweight champion Michael Chandler had to answer the question of when he would finally sign with the UFC in just about every interview he did over the last decade.

The 34-year-old couldn’t have picked a better time to finally make the leap.

Chandler became a free agent when his Bellator deal ended in August, then made a huge splash with a first-round knockout of Dan Hooker in his UFC debut in January.

Champion Khabib Nurmagomedov decided to retire and top contender Dustin Poirier elected to pursue the big payday of a trilogy bout with Conor McGregor rather than fight for the belt.

That left Chandler and Charles Oliveira to square off for the vacant belt Saturday night in the main event of UFC 262 in front olf a full house at Toyota Center in Houston.

The Chandler bout and a co-main event between perennial lightweight contender Tony Ferguson and Beneil Dariush headline a 7 p.m. ESPN-Plus pay-per-view card that also includes a women’s flyweight contender bout between Katlyn Chookagian and Viviane Araujo. Four preliminary card bouts air on ESPN at 5 with early prelims streaming on ESPN-Plus at 3:30.

“I told (UFC president Dana White) when I signed that two years ago or four years ago, I wouldn’t have been the man, the competitor or the champion you deserve to have under your banner,” Chandler said Thursday. “Now I am that guy. … You couldn’t have scripted it any better. It’s perfect.”

Chandler’s career has been anything but. He went from walk-on at Missouri to All-American in wrestling by his senior year. He won the Bellator title three times, but also lost it three times.

While he has always been a grinder, Chandler did have the benefit of a smooth road to a title shot in the UFC.

“These days ‘deserve’ is a hard word to quantify. I’ve been in the sport for 13 years in August and my resume speaks for itself,” he said. “It feels like this is the way it was supposed to be scripted the entire time. Lot of ups, couple downs, but every road led me here.

”I came into the UFC and kicked in the door, said yes to every opportunity and showed up with my work boots on like my dad did as a union carpenter for the last 40 years.”

Ferguson, who was also on the dais to promote his bout against Dariush, wasn’t buying that narrative.

Ferguson won 12 straight fights from 2013 to 2019 without ever fighting for the undisputed belt. He had two interim title shots, winning it once, and had two undisputed title bouts canceled. Still, he has never actually stepped in the cage with the undisputed belt on the line. That Chandler’s second UFC fight is for that title wasn’t lost on Ferguson.

“You got this (expletive) handed to you,” said Ferguson, who has lost two straight. “You got Dana White privilege.”

The line drew a big laugh from both White and Chandler, but Chandler is more concerned with Oliveira, who he calls “probably the most dangerous” opponent of his career.

Oliveira’s path to a title shot hasn’t exactly been direct. He entered the UFC at age 20 in 2010 and went 10-8 in his first 18 appearances in the organization before reeling off eight straight wins, including a win over Ferguson in December to propel himself into this fight.

Chandler knows it won’t be easy to beat Oliveira, but that’s what he was looking for when he left Bellator. He hopes it can serve as a message for anyone who believes they need a challenge in their life.

“Making that decision was not an easy one. I encourage everyone in life when you have relative security, but you know you’re not where you need to be, make the leap,” he said. “I believe I’ll be UFC champion on Saturday because of it.”

Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on Twitter.