The former Bellator champion Michael Chandler has difficulty dealing with his ears. He believes he will also have cauliflower ears.
Michael Chandler, 38, born on April 24, 1986, is an American professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the UFC Lightweight division.
Highlights
- Michael Chandler is in #7 in the UFC lightweight rankings.
- Some sources claimed that Chandler’s cauliflower ear is caused due to deformity caused by blunt force trauma.
- Chandler can’t fit AirPods in his ears, and sometimes sweat drips down his cheek an hour after a workout.
He made his Strikeforce debut on November 20, 2009, at Strikeforce Challengers: Woodley vs. Bears, where he fought Richard Bouphanouvong.
Later, he debuted on September 30, 2010, at Bellator 31, defeating Scott Stapp through technical knockout in the first round.
In February 2011, it was announced that Michael would participate in the Bellator Season Four Lightweight Tournament.
He was expected to compete against Eddie Alvarez for the Bellator Lightweight World Championship at Bellator 54 on October 15, 2011. However, Alvarez suffered an undisclosed injury, forcing the event to be postponed.
A rematch with Eddie occurred on November 2, 2013, in the main event of Bellator 106. He lost the match by split decision.
On September 17, 2020, it was announced that Chandler had signed a contract with the UFC and served as a backup for a title bout between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Justin Gaethje at UFC 254.
He made his promotional debut against Dan Hooker at UFC 257 on January 24, 2021. As of November 2024, he is #7 in the UFC lightweight rankings.
Michael Chandler Has Cauliflower Ears Due To His Hard Job Inside The Octagon
Like many professional mixed martial artists, Michael Chandler also has cauliflower ears, a common condition among wrestlers and fighters.
Cauliflower ears usually develop from repeated trauma or friction to the outer ear, causing blood to pool between the skin and cartilage.
According to some sources, Michael Chandler’s cauliflower ear is a deformity caused by blunt force trauma.
Some sources have claimed that Michael, like any other professional combat athlete, has cauliflower ears because of his hard work inside the octagon.
However, Michael Chandler loves what his ears represent. His ears are bumped up so much that it looks like they’re pregnant with other ears.
He has ears similar to the original cauliflower GOAT, Randy Couture, where the outer, inner, and middle parts are equally stuffed.
He can’t fit AirPods in his ears, and sometimes sweat drips down his cheek an hour after a workout because it gets trapped in the small cavities within his ears.
During the episode of the MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, Michael explained the problems he faces due to the crooked ears. He said,
“100 percent yeah, the left one. I will always have cauliflower ears for the rest of my life. I am not gonna get them surgically removed. But I am gonna get this back one here on my left surgically removed a little bit, so my ear doesn’t stick out so much.”
Michael Chandler
Michael Chandler's AirPods fighting for it's life trying to stay in those cauliflower ears pic.twitter.com/CoxrGO9Xjo
— moike (@lilmoike) June 20, 2024
He added,
More than anything, I wish I could do it now. Because all this thing does get caught on people’s hips and gets caught in shirts. And it gets almost ripped off almost every single time I grapple, and it sticks out. So yeah, it’s not swollen, it’s not anymore swollen. But I have just progressively gotten more and more cauliflower ear inside. These things are rock hard, man.”
Michael Chandler
His ears have created some discussion on reddit. One of the users posted Chandler’s photo wearing an AirPod and captioned,
That airpod is hanging on for dear life. *insert inspirational quote here*
Gwizzardz66
Another user commented,
If something a simple as this piece of plastic can hang in ear, then as a human with the tower of the mind can hang on to anything and overcome any challenges.
spect7
A third user commented,
I swear it’s always the dudes with the most insane cauliflower ear that insist on using in ear devices
sagooda
Additional Information
- Michael Chandler was married to his wife, Brie Willett, in 2014. They grew their family through adoption in 2017, welcoming their son Hap. In April 2022, their second adoptive son, Ace, was born.
- He has an estimated net worth of around $5 million as of 2024.
- Michael was born to his father, Michael Chandler Sr., and his mother, Betty Chandler.
