There was a time, just two years ago actually, when Michael Chandler not only felt he'd never lose an MMA fight, but couldn't even envision how it could be possible.
Three consecutive losses in a 12-month span have since rearranged the former Bellator MMA champion's thinking.
After starting his career with a 12-0 record, Chandler lost his 155-pound title in a split decision to Eddie Alvarez in November 2013. He went on to drop another split decision to current champion Will Brooks in May 2014 and then suffered his first knockout in a rematch with Brooks six months later.
Chandler (13-3) snapped the three-fight skid with a first-round submission win against Derek Campos in June. He is scheduled to fight Dave Rickels (16-3) at Bellator 145 on Nov. 6 in St. Louis.
A former All-American NCAA collegiate wrestler, Chandler is confident he has put the losing streak behind him, but admits it has been difficult dealing with the fallout. The 29-year-old toppled out of the Top 10 rankings due to the three straight losses. Rather than appearing in the main match of a tent-pole Bellator event in his native state of Missouri, he's on the undercard -- against an opponent he already holds a 44-second knockout over.
The losses were a long fall for Chandler, who signed a long-term deal with Bellator while he was still at the top of the division in mid-2103.
"I'll be honest, at the end of the day you have to run your own race and not think about things like rankings, but yeah, your pride and your ego gets hurt," Chandler told ESPN.com. "I'm training hard every single day to win fights. With winning fights comes recognition. Of course, it would still be nice to be ranked up there and I still do believe I can beat every one of those guys.
"My career is my career, though. It can't be changed. We can have a conversation about those two split decisions or me taking a fight [the first matchup against Brooks] when I was injured. It's funny to look back and say, 'Man, things would be a lot different if I hadn't taken that fight or the judges had seen it the right way.' Trust me, I've laid in bed at night and it has eaten at me, but I've put it in the past and you just kind of roll with it."
Contrary to what some might assume, Chandler says he's not in a hurry to book a third title fight against Brooks (16-1), who is scheduled to defend the belt against Marcin Held in the Bellator 145 co-main event.
Of course, he's eager to prove he's the top lightweight on the Bellator roster, but he doesn't want there to be any fan perception that the promotion has rushed him back to a title shot he doesn't deserve.
"Right now, when I'm not a champion, I always look at myself as the No. 1 contender," Chandler said. "I think I'm head and shoulders above everyone in the division, but if I have to fight three more fights, five more fights, before fighting for the title, it really doesn't matter. I've said before, I want the fans to feel like I deserve it and earn it. I don't want to get to that point where it's like, 'Oh, Chandler is getting another title shot, blah, blah, blah.' I'll fight everyone on the roster, knock them down, then fight for the championship."
One of the fights Chandler sees very clearly in his future is former Strikeforce champion Josh Thomson. Thomson (21-8) signed with Bellator earlier this year and scored a submission win against Mike Bronzoulis in September. He's scheduled to fight Pablo Villaseca on Dec. 4.
According to Chandler, who recently switched camps from Alliance MMA in San Diego to Power MMA in Gilbert, Arizona, the two crossed paths at a recent Bellator event and basically acknowledged the inevitably of a fight at some point.
"Me and Josh is a fight that's going to happen, obviously," Chandler said. "He knows it and I know it. We don't really know each other, but we shook hands at the Dynamite event and said, 'Hey, stay healthy. Let's put on a show for the fans someday.' It's going to happen."