Charles Oliveira secured his second win over Michael Chandler in the co-main event of UFC 309, but just like their first encounter in 2021, the fight wasn’t without high drama.
“Do Bronx” dominated the first four rounds and looked one shot away from finishing the fight at multiple points, as proven by the unanimous scorecards of 49-46, 49-46, and 49-45.
Oliveira looked to grapple a lot more in this fight than in his recent outings, securing consistent takedowns and taking Chandler’s back multiple times. However, in the fifth round, “Iron” nearly turned the tide in what would have been an all-time great comeback.
The former three-time Bellator champion needed a finish, and after hurting the former champion on the feet, just like in their first fight, he was seemingly one shot away from the referee stepping in. That would have been controversial due to many of the strikes seemingly hitting the back of Oliveira’s head in just one example of fouls going unnoticed by referee Keith Peterson.
Oliveira was able to protect himself off his back once again, take time to recover, and get back to his feet. After surviving a few more strikes, he secured yet another takedown to close out the round and get his hand raised.
In one of the highlight reel moments of the night, the Madison Square Garden crowd nearly blew the roof off of the iconic venue when Chandler ended the fight by back-slamming Oliveira, who had taken his back not once but twice in another similarity to UFC 262.
In his post-fight interview, Oliveira said that he will be ready to face the winner of Islam Makhachev vs. Arman Tsarukyan, while Chandler called out Conor McGregor — again. Fans reacted on social media to the dominant performance from Oliveira, which ended in chaotic fashion.
Oliveira himself posted an immediate reaction to the fight on X.
