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Michael Chandler had no plans to become the center of the controversy last month when he revealed in a live Instagram chat that he was not going to get the COVID-19 vaccine before his fight of November 6 against Justin Gaethje at UFC 268.
Chandler has disclosed his position in response to new COVID-19 vaccination mandates being implemented in New York City that require residents to show proof of vaccination when entering restaurants, gyms and indoor entertainment venues. In his opening comments, Chandler said he was not sure his fight with Gaethje, which is set to take place at Madison Square Garden, would be in jeopardy due to the New York terms.
It wasn’t until after that Chandler realized that his words had taken a life of their own.
“The funny thing about the vaccination is that I didn’t go out, I didn’t do a single story to tell people about it, about the vaccine,” Chandler said Wednesday. MMA time. “I was not on your show and started talking about the vaccine. I was in a private Instagram Live session with a few thousand people or whatever. Five minutes after I clicked on “End Live,” one of the MMA media came out and said Chandler was not getting vaxxed, then I was labeled an anti-vaxxer.
“I personally do not have the vaccine at the moment. I don’t know if I will ever get the vaccine. Personally, I just believe that we live in the biggest country on the planet. I believe it is the largest country on the planet because of our individual freedoms and individual choices, especially when it comes to our bodies, medical history, and health. So that’s what I’m standing on. And it wasn’t a heel turn at all. These are just the people who called me an anti-vaxxer obviously thought I was a heel, when in reality I was only answering a question.
The comments reached Gaethje, who recently told UFC Unfiltered that he believed Chandler was “just seeking attention” by taking a private health issue and proposing it for a public space.
In his original Instagram Live, Chandler said he “wouldn’t get the vaccine until it was 100% approved by the FDA,” but backtracked on that claim once the FDA approved it. several of the most common vaccine strains, declaring it did not want a COVID-19 vaccine “FDA approved or not” and written on it Twitter in response to a fan that “we all change our minds several times a day”.
When asked about Gaethje, Chandler said he wasn’t sure exactly how Gaethje came to the conclusion he drew given the method Chandler started the conversation with.
“If I had jumped in and done a media tour about not taking the vaccine or if I told everyone the vaccine was a garbage can or something, of course I would be the one looking for the vaccine. ‘attention,’ Chandler said. “I was in a private Instagram Live, on my own IG Live with my followers and a few thousand people asking about it – then the article broke and came out. So that was also the funny thing, which, that’s all right, it’s a burning issue. It’s a hot topic right now. People are 100% against, people are 100% for, and then there are a lot of people in between who don’t know what to think, so it’s just a huge problem on the world stage.
“So if I had done that, yes, I would 100% agree with Justin Gaethje that I was looking for attention. But the fact that it was on an Instagram Live and some media picked up my words and broadcast them, that shows you right there that it was a private [discussion], no different from me and you having a private conversation in a restaurant and someone overhearing it and then acting like, hey, since I have this huge rig, I shouldn’t be talking about it. Well wait a second, I was basically talking about this in a private forum.
In the end, the whole discussion turned out to be a lot of ado about nothing. New York’s new vaccination warrants don’t even apply to athletes competing in UFC 268, and as far as Chandler knows, his fight against his fellow lightweight is locked and loaded for November 6.
“We’re all ready for Madison Square Garden on November 6,” Chandler said. “Obviously it’s just become a world right now where a lot of things are hanging around. You never really know. You never know if you are fighting at Madison Square Garden until you are there, the event starts, and they call your name and you walk towards the octagon. So this is the state of the world in which we live, [but] right now all systems are working and I couldn’t be happier fighting at Madison Square Garden under the UFC banner. It will be a huge show and a phenomenal map that they have put together. “
That’s good, because Gaethje vs. Chandler should be a big fight for the lightweight division. The pair are both ranked in the top 5 of the MMA Fighting World Rankings, with Gaethje currently perched at No.3 and Chandler at No.5.
The winner will propel himself back into the UFC championship image after the two men’s title challenges failed in their most recent bouts, and Chandler is thrilled to have the opportunity to compete against one. most exciting all-action fighters the division has ever produced.
“I think you are still preparing for a long and never-ending war,” Chandler said. “I think you always prepare for a guy you just can’t finish, a guy who keeps showing up with whatever you hit him with – and Justin Gaethje is that. You are laughing at yourself if you don’t think Justin Gaethje is not only violent and not just skillful but dude the dude has a lot of cardio and heart. So I’m getting ready for 15 tough, tough minutes. The hardest fight of my life.
“But I think at the best of times, I put a hell of a punch on his temple or chin and kick him out.” But that’s what every fighter wants. You want the KO and you want a quick and easy payday, sure, but you’ve got to be ready for that 15 minute war. And if I had to guess, I think if there is an finish it happens later, in the second or third round, because I think we’re just not going to be affected by something. too crazy to finish. But that’s what I’m preparing for. We’ll see.”
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