Bellator Lightweight champion Michael Chandler spoke to Marcos Villegas of Fight Hub TV before his Bellator 85 title defense against Rick Hawn.

Topics covered include:

* Rick Hawn's judo and who will have the take down advantage in the fight

* Training with UFC Bantamweight champ Dominick Cruz, Brandon Vera and others at the Alliance gym

Topic asked about but not responded to:

* Eddie Alvarez. Chandler is focused on Rick Hawn and will be happy to talk about Alvarez and lawsuits and a possible pay-per-view bout with Alvarez later.

After you've watched what Chandler has to say, take a look at what challenger Rick Hawn told MMA Mania's Brian Hemminger and our own Matt Bishop on Bloody Elbow radio (transcription via MMA Mania):

Matt Bishop: What makes Michael Chandler such an intriguing opponent for you and how to you view him as a fighter?

Rick Hawn: It's my first time I'll be facing a really good wrestler and fighting someone that's shorter than me. The match up is intriguing -- an Olympic judo guy against an All-American wrestler and those dynamics. Who knows? It could be a slugfest. We're both decent strikers and it could go either way. It's definitely something I've been training hard for in all areas and of course this can be a long fight.

Brian Hemminger (MMAmania.com): Neither of you have fought since May. How do you think that layoff will affect you personally?

Rick Hawn: For me, it'll be great. It'll be fine. I had a long layoff before the start of the last tournament because of my injury. I looked at it as a blessing to recover and train because the tournament took a toll on me. I feel great, had a great training camp and for me, personally, it was a great thing to have the fight pushed back.

It's fun to be pumped up for a Bellator card again!

SBN coverage of Bellator 85