{"id":828515,"date":"2026-07-28T06:29:16","date_gmt":"2026-07-28T06:29:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/828515\/"},"modified":"2026-07-28T06:29:16","modified_gmt":"2026-07-28T06:29:16","slug":"din-thomas-latest-to-advocate-for-chandler-retirement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/828515\/","title":{"rendered":"Din Thomas Latest to Advocate for Chandler Retirement"},"content":{"rendered":"

Din Thomas aired his opinions on Michael Chandler’s MMA future in an interview with MMA Junkie. <\/p>\n

Din Thomas <\/a>has seen everything as a fighter, coach and now an analyst in MMA. Thomas, who posted a professional record of 26-9 with one no-contest across all promotions and a mark of 2-2 in the UFC<\/a>, has served as an analyst on UFC telecasts across both ESPN+<\/a> and Paramount Plus <\/a>for several years.<\/p>\n

Thomas was onsite for UFC Freedom 250 <\/a>on the south lawn of The White House last month in his usual analyst role. During the event that Sunday night, Michael Chandler <\/a>(23-11 MMA, 2-6 UFC) made the walk to the fabled Octagon for the eighth time since joining the promotion.<\/p>\n

Mauricio Ruffy<\/a> (14-2 MMA, 5-1 UFC) served as Chandler’s opponent that evening, winning by way of first-round TKO. The defeat extended Michael Chandler’s current losing streak to four bouts.<\/p>\n

Din Thomas Joins Call for Michael Chandler to Retire<\/p>\n

Last week, Dustin Poirier cautioned that Michael Chandler would be best served to retire from MMA as a fighter<\/a>. Din Thomas recently became the latest personality in the MMA world to echo Poirier’s sentiments. In an interview with USA Today’s MMA Junkie, Thomas said that the 40-year-old Chandler should hang up his gloves.<\/p>\n

“I think he’s got to make a decision on how he wants to bow out gracefully,” Din Thomas began. “I think this just comes down to him trying to bow out gracefully and just saying ‘Hey guys, I did the best I could, it wasn’t enough,’ and that’s a condition of reality, is that no one is promised anything.”<\/p>\n

Din Thomas also mentioned that time has simply caught up with Michael Chandler.<\/p>\n

“We know he’s a guy who works hard and we know he’s a guy who believes in himself,” he said of Chandler. “At one point, he was a very talented fighter, but it passed him up and he’s got to accept that and just be able to bow out gracefully.”<\/p>\n

Din Thomas Hates Idea of Michael Chandler Moving Up to 170<\/p>\n

In the wake of Chandler’s defeat to Ruffy in Washington, DC six weeks ago, he’s entertained the prospects of moving up to the welterweight ranks. This news came about after Chandler shared footage of a training session where he weighed 200 lbs.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Although Michael Chandler promised his fans and followers “No more starving” ahead of his next fight inside the fabled Octagon, Din Thomas is among those who’d like to see “Iron” reconsider.<\/p>\n

“It gets bad when you become the butt of the jokes, and I don’t want to see Michael Chandler be the butt of the jokes because he doesn’t deserve that,” he continued. “If he hangs out too long, then he’s putting himself in the position where it’s like ‘Dude, we tried to tell you to get out. If you want to stick around, then we’re just going to make fun of you.'”<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

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