Michael Chandler: If Eddie Alvarez Stays with Bellator, He’ll Get a Rematch

Eddie Alvarez wants a rematch with Michael Chandler, and the Bellator lightweight champion says he’ll get it eventually if he re-signs with the promotion.

“Eddie and I did put on a great fight,” Chandler told the Sherdog Radio Network’s “Savage Dog Show.” “It’s definitely [a fight] the fans want to see, so there’s no doubt that it will happen again. A rematch will happen if Eddie stays with Bellator.”

Alvarez has one fight left on his Bellator contract. He has asked for another crack at Chandler, who took his lightweight title last November via rear-naked choke in the fourth round. The fight was a barnburner, but a rematch doesn’t look likely, at least not anytime soon.

According to Alvarez, Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney told the former champ he will have to win another tournament to get a shot at Chandler’s title. Alvarez isn’t interested in that route, though. If he can’t fight Chandler next, he wants to start negotiations and either re-sign with Bellator or move on to another promotion.

For his part, Chandler is game for a rematch but doesn’t sound especially eager for it to happen.

“The biggest thing about rematches is, for the guy who wins, it doesn’t necessarily do much for your career,” Chandler said. “Right now obviously there’s criticism on both ends of it. There’s people that are going to say I definitely beat Eddie decisively. There’s a lot of people who say I got lucky and I’d lose nine times out of 10. It’s one of those things where you’re kind of dealing with that kind of stuff and the fans and whatever, but it doesn’t necessarily do anything for my career. Beating him once is enough, but at the end of the day, we are an entertainment sport and our job as fighters is to train our butts off so we can be aggressive and put on great fights.”

The first Alvarez-Chandler fight was a great one. Whether a rematch will happen remains to be seen, but in the meantime, Chandler will be back in the cage Friday against Akihiro Gono at Bellator 67. His title won’t be on the line against the veteran Japanese fighter, who hasn’t won since March 2010.

“I’m definitely not underestimating him or any of that kind of stuff,” Chandler said. “I know this is mixed martial arts. There’s a thousand ways to lose. You’ve got to be prepared for everything, and I have trained every area that I need to for this fight. But yeah, he’s not on the level Eddie was, but at the same time, he’s still a man and he’s still training every single day to beat me. I’ve got to take it as serious as I possibly can. I’m just looking forward to getting back in the cage and putting on a show and getting another win just to keep this thing rolling.”

Listen to the full interview (beginning at 57:23).