Michael Chandler has moved on from a long-awaited showdown against Conor McGregor.
At UFC 309, which takes place Nov. 16 at Madison Square Garden in New York, Chandler (23-8 MMA, 2-3 UFC) will now rematch former lightweight champ Charles Oliveira in a five-round bout. Chandler discussed the news in a YouTube video following a first report from Robbie Fox of Barstool Sports. MMA Junkie also confirmed the matchup with a source. The Chandler vs. McGregor matchup may still come later down the road.
Friday, UFC CEO Dana White told Barstool Sports Chandler was “done waiting” for McGregor, and wanted to book another fight. Chandler’s matchup is now known, and he’ll look to avenge a UFC 262 loss to Oliveira (34-10 MMA, 22-10 UFC), who won the vacant lightweight title by second-round stoppage.
Chandler has waited nearly two years for a matchup against McGregor to come to fruition. After a submission loss to Dustin Poirier at UFC 281 on Nov. 12, 2022, Chandler coached opposite McGregor on “The Ultimate Fighter” reality series early in 2023. He was set to fight McGregor at UFC 303 in June, but the fight fell through when the Irishman broke his toe.
Since their first meeting, Oliveira defended his title against Poirier, and defeated Justin Gaethje, but lost his belt on the scale. He then lost by submission to Islam Makhachev in an attempt to claim the vacant title.
Oliviera then rebounded by stopping Beneil Dariush in the first round at UFC 289, but then dropped a split decision against Arman Tsarukyan at UFC 300, which was his most recent appearance.
The current UFC 309 lineup includes:
- Michael Chandler vs. Charles Oliveira
- Eryk Anders vs. Chris Weidman
- Viviane Araujo vs. Karine Silva
- Nikita Krylov vs. Azamat Murzakanov
- Veronica Hardy vs. Eduarda Moura
- Jonathan Martinez vs. Marcus McGhee
- Ramiz Brahimaj vs. Mickey Gall
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 309.
