Charles Oliveira defeats Michael Chandler via unanimous decision in wild UFC 309 co-main event
LEARN MORE: Tom Aspinall was prohibited from attending the UFC 309 press conference.
By Leocciano Callao at Madison Square Garden
Posted: 05:49 GMT, November 17, 2024 | Revised: 07:24 GMT, November 17, 2024
No one in the audience stayed seated as Charles Oliveira and Michael Chandler delivered an unforgettable performance in the co-main event of UFC 309 at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night.
After five intense rounds, Oliveira emerged victorious, sweeping all three judges' scorecards with scores of 49-46, 49-46, and 49-45 in an incredibly thrilling rematch.
In a dominant performance during the first four rounds, Oliveira appeared to be in control, but things took a turn in the fifth when Chandler landed some powerful blows and nearly knocked him out, putting the former lightweight champion in a tough spot.
As the round progressed, Oliveira managed to get behind Chandler in an effort to execute one of his trademark submission moves. However, Chandler, disregarding the risk, glanced at Donald Trump and forcefully threw Oliveira to the mat twice in the middle of the Octagon.
In the end, the decision was left to the judges, and they all awarded the victory to Oliveira. He was able to dominate most of the fight, even though Chandler had some strong moments of his own.
Charles Oliveira achieved a unanimous victory against Michael Chandler at UFC 309 held in New York.
Oliveira and Chandler delivered an unforgettable performance at Madison Square Garden in a highly anticipated rematch.
Chandler and Oliveira faced each other in the Octagon once more, three years after their intense battle for the 155-pound championship that was left open by Khabib Nurmagomedov in 2021.
During their initial encounter, Chandler was just moments away from clinching UFC gold in his second fight with the organization, but Oliveira managed to escape thanks to the buzzer at the end of the first round.
After defeating Chandler with a second-round TKO, Do Bronxs went on to submit both Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje in his next fights. Unfortunately, he lost the title because he failed to make weight for the bout against Gaethje.
The Brazilian fighter faced off against Islam Makhachev for the vacant championship title but was defeated. He then quickly finished Beniel Dariush with a knockout in the first round. However, he later lost in the fight for the number one contender spot against Arman Tsarukyan at UFC 300.
Conversely, Chandler scored an impressive knockout against Tony Ferguson, even though he faced defeats against Gaethje and Poirier, with both of those fights taking place at Madison Square Garden.
Chandler came close to knocking Oliveira out in the fifth round, and the audience at Madison Square Garden erupted with excitement.
Oliveira kept Chandler on the defensive for the majority of their 25-minute lightweight fight.
The fighter from Missouri then took an extended break, biding his time for the highly anticipated Conor McGregor fight, which had been agreed upon but ultimately didn't happen.
The two fighters faced off in a season of The Ultimate Fighter in 2023 and were scheduled to be the main event during International Fight Week in July. However, McGregor had to withdraw due to an injury.
It's uncertain if the biggest name in the sport will ever return to the Octagon. That's why Chandler chose to face Oliveira again instead of wasting time training and hoping for a fight with McGregor.
Chandler stayed true to his intentions of bringing McGregor back into the ring by challenging The Notorious right after the match. This defeat brought Iron Mike's record to 28 wins and 9 losses.
In contrast, Oliveira improved his record to 35-10, positioning himself as the leading contender to compete against the victor of the matchup between Makhachev and Tsarukyan for the championship.
