Whilst MMA fans are excited to see Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic back in action, the co-main event of UFC 309 is expected to be a far more electrifying affair with Michael Chandler set to rematch former lightweight champion, Charles Oliveira.
The last time that the pair came to blows, the Brazilian superstar was able to battle through some early hardship to score a fabulous second-round TKO; now, the inspirational American is keen to right that wrong… And plans to do it in an equally brutal fashion.
Michael Chandler aims to break his ‘Madison Square Garden Curse’ at UFC 309
Speaking via the latest episode of The Ariel Helwani Show, popular lightweight Michael Chandler was honest and upfront about a range of topics, both personal and professional, ahead of his long-awaited return to action at UFC 309.
The fascinating hour-long interview is well worth a listen-through in full, with Chandler explaining that a key part of his motivation this time around is to break the ‘curse’ that he’s suffered throughout his career when fighting at the world’s most famous arena.
“I’m defeated at MSG, 0-3. I actually just ran into a dude who had been to all three of my fights at MSG and he’s like ‘Hey dude, we’re going to break the MSG Curse [at UFC 309]’.”
Chandler lost both of his previous UFC bouts at MSG, a third-round submission to Dustin Poirier and a unanimous decision to Justin Gaethje, as well as a doctor’s stoppage defeat to Brent Primus for the Bellator lightweight title back in 2017.
“But I also look at that as another layer [of motivation] where I’m like ‘Of course, this is the way that it was supposed to be,’” stated the veteran lightweight contender.
“To fight the guy who’s already beaten you and shattered your dreams, to also fight at the arena that has shattered your dreams every single time, you have never won there and now it’s time to right that wrong.”
Whilst there’s no shortage of superstitious fighters in the UFC, Chandler certainly isn’t one of them, revealing that he’d specifically asked to fight at MSG after his initial October return failed to materialize.
“No, not even a little bit [superstitious]; I wanted it, and I asked for this card, we talked about October, and I wanted to fight in October, but I needed to do a serious, legit weight cut [first].
“Like ‘Hey, I’ve been preparing my mind and body for 170lbs for the last year and a half, and now I only have like 10 weeks to get down to 155lbs for October’… It wasn’t going to happen; it was too soon, and I needed some time, [but] I wanted MSG, and we got MSG.”
Michael Chandler vows to ‘separate Oliveira from consciousness’ at UFC 309
Given how Charles Oliveira was able to starch Chandler just a few seconds into the second round of their iconic UFC 262 title fight, the veteran lightweight is confident that he can get that finish back.
“So, I’ve actually envisioned that a couple different times. I don’t know if it’s going to be a right hand, left hook, or what it’s going to be… But Charles Oliveira is going to be separated from consciousness, I believe [that] 100%. It’s going to be fun.”
Interestingly, Chandler also stated that he was ‘too young’ and too green when he faced Oliveira back in 2021 – this, despite entering that bout with a professional record of 22-5.
“The second round was me making a really silly mistake that I have since cleaned up… I was too young, man… Even though I was old, I was too young, I was too new in the sport, I had two and a half minutes of Octagon experience, two and a half minutes of UFC cage time.
“Not only have I grown as a fighter, but obviously these last two years that I’ve been out of the Octagon, out of competition, so many things I’ve changed and so many things I’ve worked on and so many things, I’ve turned into a completely different man.”
UFC 309 goes down live from Madison Square Garden on Saturday, November 16.
