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Michael Chandler did not let his head hang low following his loss to Paddy Pimblett at UFC 314. The UFC veteran and former lightweight title contender instead turned the loss into a teachable moment for his 8-year-old son Hap, who he and his wife adopted in 2017 and who had never seen him lose in person.
Following the fight, Chandler took to Instagram and posted a video of he and son talking about how to respond when life hands you a setback and how sometimes things don’t go the way you planned. The two then toasted one another with a Nutella covered cookie as the smile returned to Chandler’s son’s face.
“Okay, listen. We’re going to work extremely hard, we’re going to try and do the best that we can. Sometimes, we’re going to fall short,” Chandler told his son. “Gonna come up short but we’re always going to keep our head up. Even if you get some cuts on your face. I love you, cheers.”
In the Instagram post accompanying the video, Chandler contextualized the moment and talked about how important it was to him to share both the moment, and the lesson, with his son.
“This was the first time Hap saw me lose a fight in person. He was full of emotions back stage, and rightfully so. He was thrown into the pit of a valley he didn’t see coming,” Chandler wrote. “The blood and swelling only exacerbated the fears of how daddy was doing as he held my hand as I got stitched up. But in the midst of the chaos and pain was a perfect time to show him how a man responds. Don’t tell them, show them.”
Several fellow fights and countless fans flooded Chandler’s comments praising him for the interaction. Combat sports can be ruthless. And every time a fighter steps into the cage they know the risks. So it’s really impressive to see Chandler handle the loss with not only dignity, but also with the poise to turn it into a teachable moment for his son.