Video: Michael Chandler gets his face put back together after brutal Justin Gaethje fight at UFC 268

There’s no doubt in anyone’s mind that Justin Gaethje vs. Michael Chandler at UFC 268 was a “Fight of the Year” candidate. Both men gave it their all in a back-and-forth war that somehow managed to go the distance despite the violence being inflicted in the cage. Gaethje walked away with the decision win, and Chandler walked away with a pretty messed up face.

And a $50,000 “Fight of the Night” bonus, too, so that’s nice.

Still, that face wasn’t going to fix itself, so immediately after the fight both Gaethje and Chandler were rushed to the hospital where doctors carefully stitched all the savaged meat in Chandler’s head back together. And because “Iron” is a savage who revels in this kind of thing, he shared footage from the sewing session with TMZ Sports.

According to the celeb gossip site, “Iron Mike” received 22 stitches once everything was all said and done — four stitches for his lip, 12 above his right eye, and six stitches above his left eye — the result of eating 83 strikes to the head from Gaethje. Chandler delivered 64 of his own, but somehow Gaethje left the cage looking pretty much the same. We doubt he ended up wearing full facial icepacks for days after the bout like Chandler did, either.

At least he’s getting paid?

According to in-the-know MMA reporter Ariel Helwani, Chandler is the anonymous fighter making $750,000 to fight that Dana White referenced on a recent podcast when defending UFC fighter pay. Whether you think that’s enough given the corn thresher he was just thrown through at UFC 268 ... well, we’ll leave that determination up to you.

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