Chandler predicts he'll win UFC title 'in the next year'

Even if Michael Chandler doesn't get the opportunity to become a UFC champion later this month, he believes he'll wear Octagon gold within the next year.

The former Bellator titleholder, who signed with the UFC in September, is the scheduled backup fighter for Khabib Nurmagomedov and Justin Gaethje's lightweight title bout at UFC 254 on Oct. 24 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

"I believe I have the recipe to beat Khabib Nurmagomedov," Chandler told reporters Thursday, according to MMA Fighting. "I believe I am the dark horse of the division. ... And whether I have to beat Khabib or I beat Gaethje or I beat someone else, I will be UFC lightweight champion in the next year."

If the Nurmagomedov-Gaethje bout falls through, Chandler says he would prefer to fill in against Nurmagomedov since he's considered the No. 1 lightweight on the planet.

"He's looked as close to as unbeatable as any fighter ever has in the history of the sport, so that's the guy I want to test myself against," Chandler said. "That's the guy who it excites me to stand in front of. That's the guy who it excites me to stand across the cage from. He's the No. 1 guy, I want that No. 1 spot.

"Either way, it's hard to talk about this scenario without realizing that this is bad luck happening for the UFC, this main event falling off and then me stepping in. But if I had it my way, and a fighter does pull out, I would like for it to be Gaethje so I can fight Khabib (and) be the No. 1 lightweight in the world the night of Oct. 24."

Chandler made his Bellator debut in 2010 and was a staple on the promotion's roster. However, the 34-year-old's "dream matchup" has always been the best fighter in his division at any given time - historically, that has almost always been the UFC's 155-pound champion.

"Back in the day it was Benson Henderson and Frankie Edgar, and all the way through the Rafael dos Anjos's and the Anthony Pettis's and then into the Eddie (Alvarez) era and then the Conor (McGregor) era and now the Khabib era," Chandler said. "I've been training to fight those guys since Day 1."