As far as the next few weeks, its going to be two more weeks of hard sparring and hard grappling and lots of individual work with my coaches.  Then the week of the fight the main focus is reviewing game plan and making weight.  At that point all the hard work is done and its FINALLY time for the fun part...GETTING MY BELT.  I cant wait and I hope you guys are half as pumped as I am.  Don't forget you can always contact me on Facebook and on Twitter @mikechandlermma.  Thanks again guys! Be Blessed!

Special thanks to:

KEN LESTER

CLINCH GEAR

HI-TECH PHARMACEUTICALS

BODY BY V

TRUE NORTH MANAGEMENT SERVICES

RANDEL ALEMAN AND MARTIN ADVISORY GROUP

AND MOST OF ALL MIKE AND BETTY CHANDLER  love you guys!

CHICAGO, Ill. (February 7, 2011) - Bellator Fighting Championships today confirmed the addition of undefeated Bellator veteran Michael Chandler to its upcoming Season 4 Lightweight Tournament, airing LIVE on MTV2 starting March 5^th.  With a pair of impressive wins under the Bellator banner in 2010, Chandler's opponents have never made past the second round, as the Missouri native is a perfect 5-0 in his professional career with all of his victories coming by way of (T)KO or submission.  Watch Chandler knock out Scott Stapp here: http://bit.ly/hoeLyR           

"Mike was very impressive at Bellator 31 and 32, finishing both opponents in the first round.  He's got extreme strength and power for a Lightweight and  I'm excited to see how far he can go in this tournament LIVE on MTV2," said Bellator Chairman and CEO Bjorn Rebney.

Training alongside UFC lightweight title challenger Gray Maynard and Bellator welterweight Jay Hieron at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas, the former Division I All American is ready to break the mold of many wrestlers who have transitioned to MMA.

"I never want to be known as the typical "lay and pray" wrestler," said Chandler.  "I want to break away from the traditional wrestling mold that a lot of guys have.  People say that all wrestlers just want to take their opponents down and lay on them for three rounds, but I want to go out there and finish them.  I don't want to just go out there and win, I want to go out there and dominate."

Undefeated at 5-0, Chandler has been completely dominant up to this point in his career, and will look to continue his impressive run when the Bellator Season 4 Lightweight Tournament kicks off in March.  Not only is a huge $100,000 payday on the line for the fast-rising 24-year-old lightweight, but the chance to face current Bellator Lightweight Champion Eddie Alvarez has been Chandler's goal since the day he signed with Bellator.

"I've had my eyes set on capturing that Bellator World Lightweight Championship since the moment I signed with Bellator," Chandler said.  "It's not to take away from anybody or that I just think I'm going to smash all of these guys on my way to [Eddie] Alvarez, it's just that I'm really excited about the journey I'm about to go through.  I'm excited about the next three months of training, and I'm excited about being able to go out there and dominate fight after fight.  This is the opportunity of a lifetime in a young fighter's career."

Chandler joins Carey Vanier and "Razor" Rob McCullough as the other confirmed participants in the Lightweight Tournament scheduled to air LIVE on MTV2.

For more information, visit Bellator.com, follow Bellator on Twitter @BellatorMMA or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Bellator

About Bellator Fighting Championships

Bellator Fighting Championships is a Mixed Martial Arts promotional company headquartered in Chicago.  Bellator's founder/CEO, Bjorn Rebney, is an experienced fighting sports and entertainment professional with a deep commitment to the purity and integrity of the sport of MMA and its athletes.  Bellator Fighting Championships' executive team is comprised of top industry professionals in the areas of live event production, television production, fighter relations, venue procurement, sponsorship creation/development, international licensing, marketing, advertising, publicity and commission relations. 

About MTV2

MTV2 is a man's best friend, available in nearly 80 million homes and with the highest concentration of males 12-24 and 12-34 on TV today.  A vibrant mix of music, lifestyle and action sports programming, MTV2 has reflected the habits and behavior of young people since its launch in 1996. MTV2 is part of MTV Networks, a unit of Viacom, one of the world's leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms.

I am now back in Las Vegas and back to the grind.  I'm looking at a possible three month layoff ahead of me, which will give me a ton of time to keep rounding out my game before I head into the Bellator Lightweight Tournament sometime at the beginning of next year.  Its great to be surrounded by such an amazing camp here at Xtreme Couture.  The possibilities are endless and there is never a time when opportunities to train are scarce.   I am hitting mitts at least twice a week with my boxing coach Gil Martinez and going to Neil Melanson's grappling classes four days a week.  I know without a doubt that moving out to Vegas was the best career move I could make. 

Make sure you tune in this Thursday to Fox Sports Network to watch my buddy Ben Askren win the Bellator Welterweight world title in Philadelphia against Lyman Good.  Also, one of my training partners Martin Kampmann gets set to fight Jake Shields in this weekend's upcoming UFC card in California. 

God is good....I'm living the dream!!!