Michael Chandler has a date, and an opponent. It’s not Conor McGregor, however.
Just hours after news broke that Chandler would not be fighting McGregor next, “Iron” Michael Chandler (23-8) himself revealed that he had booked a rematch with former UFC lightweight champ Charles Oliveira (34-10, 1NC) at UFC 309.
That would be the New York City Pay-Per-View card on November 16, 2024, taking place at Madison Square Garden.
Chandler explained the decision to first wait for McGregor, and now take a fight with Oliveira, in a video posted to his official Youtube channel. He also didn’t discount rebooking the McGregor match-up moving forward.
“I took a quick little detour to chase this thing, the opportunity of The Ultimate Fighter. Six weeks filming The Ultimate Fighter then twelve hours, twelve weeks on ESPN on The Ultimate Fighter 31. Then we did a reaction show with huge guests like Nate Bargatze, Jelly Roll, Brantley Gilbert, Russel Dickerson, all these different guys,” stated Chandler.
“I got more promo, more eyeballs, more everything in the last year and a half then I would have gotten three fights. And now I get the opportunity to take the title. If I beat Charles Oliveira, I become the number one contender. I beat Charles Oliveira I can choose to go beat Islam or Arman [Tsarukyan], I believe it’s going to be Islam. Or if Conor can finally get his house in order and put together a training camp, maybe I go fight Conor and we finish The Ultimate Fighter 31.”
“This is the ultimate bet on myself,” Chandler added, reminding viewers of his history of doing exactly that, as a walk-on for his college wrestling team, and as a Bellator star jumping to the UFC.
Oliveira defeated Chandler in 2021 for the then-vacant UFC lightweight championship. He’s coming off a split decision loss to Arman Tsarukyan at UFC 300, in what was billed as a title eliminator. “Do Bronx” is the UFC submissions leader. Chandler, meanwhile, has not fought since a 2022 loss to Dustin Poirier, after which he was tied to the McGregor booking.
