Nov 11, 2023; New York, NY, USA; Tom Aspinall (blue gloves) reacts to beating Sergei Pavlovich (red gloves) during UFC 295 at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

Tom Aspinall, Michael Chandler exchange barbs over questionable UFC 'fight IQ'

Originally posted on MMA on SI | By Zain Bando | Last updated Jul 30, 2025 7:01 PM ET

UFC Heavyweight Champion Tom Aspinall recognizes flaws when he sees them.

The same goes for Michael Chandler, who has struggled immensely throughout his UFC career with a 2-5 mark. Aspinall was openly critical of Chandler’s gameplan, which got back to “Iron.”

Chandler lost to Paddy Pimblett in an underwhelming affair, which drew criticism from Aspinall following the UFC 314 fight back in April in Miami.

Aspinall Rips Chandler After Pimblett Fight

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“It’s bad fight IQ,” Aspinall said in a recent YouTube video. “It’s weird because he’s obviously a really fit guy, but if you do a sprint for five minutes, no one’s going to be fit, are they? He just goes out there, he throws from here, swinging, everything he does is picking up full blast.”

Aspinall says, given Chandler’s career has commenced in storied promotions like Bellator, it’s baffling to him how many holes his MMA toolbox has.

“It’s mad for someone who has that many fights, I’m just surprised,” Aspinall said.

Aspinall said he was uber confident Pimblett would walk away victorious with little issue, too. Chandler failed to finish Charles Oliveira last November, giving Aspinall more confidence Chandler would struggle against Pimblett, he said.

“I was watching him thinking, ‘There’s no way Paddy loses to this guy,’” Aspinall said. “I know a lot of people were saying online, ‘He’s a tough fight for Paddy.’ I thought, ‘Easy fight for Paddy.’ And it was pretty easy.”

Chandler Fires Verbal Jab At Aspinall

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Chandler took to social media to respond to Aspinall, openly criticizing the champion for not being able to fight Jon Jones who is still widely regarded as one of the best ever.

“Didn’t that big goober say this like 3 years ago? And then waited as long for Jon as I did for Conor after he criticized me for waiting for Conor? Cool,” Chandler wrote.

Nevertheless, it’s clear the two don’t see eye-to-eye and likely never will, regardless of how suspect Chandler’s fight IQ may seem at times.