Michael Chandler referees Unsanctioned Match on WWE NXT

Michael Chandler was the special guest referee for an Unsanctioned Match between Cruz Montana and Dion Lennox on WWE NXT on Wednesday night. WWE's recap of the show says Montana won the match, "refereed by UFC star Michael Chandler".

It was his first in-ring role for WWE, but not his first appearance. In February 2024 he sat ringside at Raw and cut a promo calling out Conor McGregor, as WrestleTalk recalled. WWE and the UFC are both owned by TKO.

How it was booked

The spot started on X. According to Fightful, Chandler offered NXT general manager Robert Stone his help if Stone needed someone to keep order in the match. Stone replied, "Your [sic] making this too easy for me," and then announced him on Oct. 31.

Chandler answered the announcement on X, as reported by Wrestling Inc.:

"It's set in stone!!!! Not a better man for the job...no one is more unsanctioned than me."

The early reports billed him as a "special guest enforcer". WWE's match preview called him the special guest referee. In the storyline, Stone brought him in "to keep the peace" after the feud turned personal. NXT moved from its usual Tuesday to Wednesday this week because of election coverage, according to Wrestling Inc.

What happened in the match

He stepped in as Montana set up a powerbomb from the ring steps onto the exposed concrete, giving Lennox an opening, according to PWMania. Later Lennox grabbed handcuffs. When Chandler tried to intervene, Lennox shoved him through the ropes with both hands, as SB Nation described it.

WWE posted the shove on X with the line "Dion Lennox just SWATTED @MikeChandlerMMA away!!", as quoted by MMA Junkie.

DarkState ran in to help Lennox, and The 946 ran them off. Montana then powerbombed Lennox through a table and won with Spin the Block, according to WWE and PWMania. MMA Junkie and PWMania report that Chandler counted the pin. WrestleZone calls it Montana's final NXT match after his call-up to Raw.

Where his fighting career stands

Chandler, 40, is 23-11 overall and 2-6 in the UFC, according to his CageOracle page. He has lost four straight. The losses came against Dustin Poirier (November 2022), Charles Oliveira (November 2024), Paddy Pimblett (April 2025) and Mauricio Ruffy in June. His last win was a knockout of Tony Ferguson in May 2022.

At UFC Freedom 250 on June 14, Ruffy dropped him with a spinning kick and finished him with a right hand. The stoppage came at 4:29 of the first round, as Cageside Press reported. Chandler closed at +395 that night, about a 19% chance, the longest odds of his UFC career. Afterwards he said in an Instagram video that he was "in good spirits" and did not talk about retiring, according to Newsweek.

He has been an expensive fighter to back. One dollar on him at the closing price in each of his eight UFC fights would have lost $4.52. The odds pointed to about three wins; he got two, and he is 1-6 as an underdog.

His CageOracle page lists no upcoming fight, and we found no further WWE dates announced. MMA Junkie says it's unclear when he'll fight again, or whether this starts a bigger WWE role. In August, False Finish reported that he was doing ring work at the WWE Performance Center, according to WrestleTalk. We found no comment from Chandler after the show.