Michael Chandler promises to bring a different version of himself at UFC 309.
Chandler faces Charles Oliveira in a five-round co-headliner on Saturday at Madison Square Garden in New York. The two will be running it back from their initial encounter at UFC 262 in 2021, when Chandler suffered a second-round technical knockout loss.
Chandler and Oliveira clashed for the vacant lightweight title in the main event at UFC 262. “Iron” hurt Oliveira multiple times in the opening stanza, even threatening the jiu-jitsu specialist with a guillotine. However, “do Bronx” turned the tables early in Round 2 by clipping Chandler with a left hook and raining a barrage of punches to get the stoppage.
Chandler claims he will right some wrongs from that fight in their rematch at UFC 309. The former Bellator champ plans to gradually break his opponent down instead of rushing for the finish like he did in their first matchup. Chandler believes he is invincible in a five rounder at lightweight if he can maintain his composure.
“When I smell a finish about to happen, I am gonna slowly continue to put pressure on instead of trying to rush,” Chandler said in the UFC 309 Countdown video. “The way it was always supposed to be. Sometimes you gotta take a loss to put yourself back up. Then overcome the odds and right a wrong. I think that’s what this is gonna be. There is not a man alive at 155 pounds that can hang with me for 25 minutes if I fight composed and smart. That’s who I am now. And I’m excited to go out there and show that on Nov. 16.”
UFC 309: Jones vs Miocic. Saturday at 10 ET on ESPN+. Order Now!
Michael Chandler working with Kamaru Usman ahead of his fight against Charles Oliveira
@ufc #UFC #MMA #UFC309
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— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) November 9, 2024
Chandler hasn’t fought since a submission loss to Dustin Poirier in 2022 that made him 1-3 in his last four, albeit against top tier competition. After awaiting a Conor McGregor booking for the majority of the last two years, the 38-year-old has now shifted focus to title contention.
Meanwhile, Oliveira is coming off a split-decision loss in a title eliminator against Arman Tsarukyan at UFC 300 this past April.
