UFC lightweight contender Michael Chandler believes his “integrity” was wrongly called into question in the aftermath of his defeat earlier this month.
Two years on from a submission loss to Dustin Poirier at Madison Square Garden, Chandler made his long-awaited return inside the same venue on Nov. 16, running it back with Charles Oliveira in the co-main event of UFC 309.
Having previously been on the wrong end of a memorable comeback form “do Bronx” in their 2021 title showdown, the former Bellator champion had his sights set on redemption in New York City.
But “Iron” fell convincingly short of that on fight night, with Oliveira securing a convincing decision victory following a dominant five rounds from the Brazilian.
As was the case after his setback against “The Diamond,” Chandler has been accused of seeking advantages outside the boundaries of the ruleset, with cries of fence grabs, eye pokes, and egregious back of the head strikes filling social media.
According to Chandler, however, the claim he consistently fouled at UFC 309 was a lie created by those sat cageside with mic in hand.
During an appearance on Wednesday’s episode of The Ariel Helwani Show on Uncrowned, Chandler commented on how his actions were commentated over by Jon Anik, Joe Rogan, and Daniel Cormier after rewatching the broadcast.
“Watching it on TV wasn’t as appealing to me,” Chandler said. “A little bit of the commentary (bothered me) when it comes to some of the stuff they were saying — the misinterpretation of what the back of the head is by the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial arts, the misinterpretation of what cage-grabbing is, and a couple of different things.
“I’m an honest guy. I try to live pretty full of integrity and full of honest, and a narrative that has been painted is not very interesting to me. I’m not very happy about it,” Chandler continued. “I’m not going to say I didn’t do anything wrong. … (But) 90 percent of the shots at least, most of them…all of them, my hand, my fist was catching the ear. If you’re catching the ear, that is not the back of the head. … A referee who was within two feet away never said one thing about it. Then you’ve got commentators 35 feet away saying it’s the back of the head.”
Those controversial strikes came in the final round when Chandler enjoyed his only success of the fight. With that in mind, he gave his performance a “2 out of 10” rating during the same interview with Helwani.
And although he maintained his reputation as an entertainer in the dying moments at UFC 309, the result has left “Iron” with a losing 2-4 record in the Octagon — something he’ll look to rectify in 2025.
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