Michael Chandler had to move on from a long-anticipated booking with Conor McGregor to a matchup against Charles Oliveira.
McGregor hasn’t fought since suffering a leg break in his trilogy fight with Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 in July 2021. “Notorious” starred opposite Chandler as rival coaches on “The Ultimate Fighter 31” in 2023 with a future clash planned between the two.
After multiple delays in McGregor’s return timeline, they were finally scheduled to headline UFC 303 this past June. However, the Irishman pulled out two weeks before fight night due a toe injury. Meanwhile, Chandler also hasn’t fought since a submission loss to Poirier at UFC 281 in 2022, mostly due to awaiting a fight against McGregor.
Chandler will finally return to action in a rematch against Oliveira in a five-round co-headliner at UFC 309 on Nov. 16 at Madison Square Garden in New York. “Iron” recently revealed how he moved on from the McGregor fight after waiting nearly two years. When their UFC 303 matchup was canceled, Chandler was admittedly dejected for a while. However, Chandler continued to training, as he was determined to get back in action — be it against McGregor or someone else.
UFC 309: Jones vs Miocic. Saturday at 10 ET on ESPN+. Order Now!
And while a McGregor fight certainly promises a huge payday, Chandler believes his matchup against “do Bronx” is the next best thing. Chandler is also considering the fight to be a title eliminator, or at least a big step on his way back to title contention.
“I felt sorry for myself for a couple of days… licked my wounds for a couple of days and then got back on the horse and continued to train,” Chandler told New York Post Sports. “Because I knew either the fight with Conor was gonna be rebooked pretty quick or it wasn’t, and I was gonna go fight someone else. And now here we are, this opportunity, huge opportunity against Charles Oliveira. No. 1 contender fight, co-main event, five rounds on the Jon Jones vs. Stipe [card] at the Madison Square Garden, the world’s most iconic arena. It’s not the Conor fight but if you could think of a next best thing, this is definitely it and now we’re working towards the title.”
While Chandler has dropped three of last four, they were all against elite competition— including a submission loss to Oliveira in 2021. Meanwhile, Oliveira has sandwiched a KO win over Beneil Dariush between a title loss to Islam Makhachev and a split-decision loss against Arman Tsarukyan in a title eliminator.
