Bellator lightweight champ Michael Chandler wants fight in early summer

When he last appeared, Michael Chandler (9-0 MMA, 6-0 BFC) delivered a performance that not only put him on several "Fight of the Year" lists but also won him the Bellator lightweight championship.

Now healed from the undoubtedly grueling fight, the champ is ready to get back.

"Hopefully, late April or early May is what I would really like, and I'm definitely young and hungry and healthy," Chandler told MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio).

Chandler, who trains at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas, defeated Alvarez at Bellator 58 this past November but has since stayed on the shelf.

Meanwhile, a field of eight lightweights has been assembled to challenge the champ. Bellator's sixth season of tournament action kicks off at Bellator 62 in March and features the opening round of the lightweight competition: Patricky "Pitbull" Freire (10-2 MMA, 3-1 BFC) vs. Lloyd Woodard (11-1 MMA, 1-1 BFC), Rick Hawn (11-1 MMA, 3-1 BFC) vs. Ricardo Tirloni (14-1 MMA, 1-0 BFC), J.J. Ambrose (17-3 MMA, 0-0 BFC) vs. Brent Weedman (18-7-1 MMA, 4-2 BFC), and Thiago Michel (9-2 MMA, 0-0 BFC) vs. Rene Nazare (10-1 MMA, 3-1 BFC).

Chandler dispatched Freire on his way to the finals for the season-five tournament.

Not surprisingly, Chandler believes "Pitbull" is a favorite for season six, along with Rick Hawn, who's a new addition to Bellator's lightweight class after an impressive run in the season-five welterweight tournament.

"I definitely think you've got to put him and Hawn as the two favorites, I would say," he said. "But it's definitely a tough field and I'm excited to see it unfold and whoever brings it the most, that is hopefully the guy I fight in September."

While the field is getting sorted out, Chandler's chances for staying active look good. Bellator officials today told MMAjunkie.com that he's likely to make a non-title appearance later in season six, though a date and opponent have yet to be determined.

Either way, Chandler's layoff won't last too long.

This kid has a bright future and so has Bellator.

Bjorn said he is going to stop doing non-title fights. Hopefully they send him to DREAM to fight Aoki if he takes out Alvarez for his non-title fight as part of their new fighter sharing agreement.

Looking forward to seeing him fight again.

CDF47 wrote:Bjorn said he is going to stop doing non-title fights. Hopefully they send him to DREAM to fight Aoki if he takes out Alvarez for his non-title fight as part of their new fighter sharing agreement.

Looking forward to seeing him fight again.

That has a nice ring to it.

Dagwood wrote:

CDF47 wrote:Bjorn said he is going to stop doing non-title fights. Hopefully they send him to DREAM to fight Aoki if he takes out Alvarez for his non-title fight as part of their new fighter sharing agreement.

Looking forward to seeing him fight again.

That has a nice ring to it.

Yeah, I read it on a website today where there was an article about Alvarez possibly going to UFC after his Aoki fight. I figured they had an agreement after the Aoki vs. Alvarez fight was announced but today was the first time I saw it written in an article.