Michael Chandler waited for nearly two years to fight Conor McGregor but now that he’s finally returning to action at UFC 309, he’s not wasting any more time when it comes to his career.
On Saturday night, Chandler gets the chance to avenge his first loss on the UFC when he faces Charles Oliveira in the five-round co-main event at Madison Square Garden in New York. It may not be the fight he initially wanted but Chandler definitely wasn’t upset to get Oliveira instead of McGregor given the history that they share.
“Call it serendipity, call it God’s plan, call it the universe and how it all works out, whatever anybody’s view point on it is, you couldn’t have scripted it any better,” Chandler told MMA Fighting. “You couldn’t script it any better.
“It’s at Madison Square Garden, co-main event, Jon Jones vs. Stipe [Miocic] the fight for the greatest heavyweight, the baddest man on the planet and [my fight against] the guy who shattered my dreams.”
Chandler’s dream was becoming UFC lightweight champion and he nearly pulled that off when he faces Oliveira the first time back in 2021 with the vacant title up for grabs. On that night, Chandler came out guns blazing and nearly finished Oliviera with a barrage of punches in the opening round.
To his credit, Oliveira survived the onslaught and then stormed back by delivering a lightning quick knockout to end the fight at just 19 seconds into the second round.
Now over three years later, Chandler finally gets an opportunity at revenge.
“Since you’ve been covering me since I was a little young 20 year old, I wanted to be the best guy in the world,” Chandler said. “I want to be known as the best guy in the world. You can’t be the best guy in the world unless you’re holding a UFC belt.
“That guy Charles Oliveira, rightfully so, legally within the confines of the sport, beat me on that night in Houston, Texas and he was the better man. But I get an opportunity to right that wrong in my mind and in my soul.”
While his only focus right now remains on beating Oliveira at UFC 309, Chandler anxiously awaits the chance to really hit the ground running now that he’s finally active again.
Just because he’s not facing McGregor as he originally intended, the 38-year-old former Bellator champion truly believes that’s still a matchup he could get in early 2025. McGregor continues to tout his plans to return to action with UFC CEO Dana White stating recently that he’s confident the Irish superstar will fight again next year.
Assuming that happens, Chandler laid out an ambitious timeline for the next year of his career with targets on Oliveira, McGregor and then eventually UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev.
“I plan on running through Charles Oliveira, getting out healthy and being able to fight Conor as early as January if the athletic commissions don’t give me too long of a suspension,” Chandler said.
“So I could fight Conor first of the year 2025 and then still go fight Islam. Running through Charles Oliveira, Conor McGregor within a couple month span and then fighting for the UFC title, that’s a heck of a run.”
For years, Chandler considered Khabib Nurmagomedov as the fight he most desired but that’s no longer possible with the undefeated former UFC lightweight champion happy in retirement with no plans to compete again. In Nurmagomedov’s absence, Makhachev has taken over with a dominant run through the lightweight division including wins over Oliveira, Dustin Poirier and former featherweight king Alexander Volkanovski.
He may have never gotten the chance to face Nurmagomedov in the cage but Chandler would be just as happy to take on his prodigy, especially with the UFC lightweight title on the line.
“I think I’ve got a great style to beat Islam,” Chandler said. “Like I said, good old fashion, passionate, hard-working Missouri Division I wrestling beats Dagestani sambo every day of the week. I’ve got dynamite in my hands. I’ve got cardio for days. I can push the pace. I believe I beat Islam. A ton of respect for him.
“As I said in the past, he hadn’t proven himself. Now he has completely 100 percent proven himself. He is our champion, he is my champion at 155. I have to respect. With that being said, who doesn’t want to see that fight?”
First things first, Makhachev is expected to face Arman Tsarukyan sometime in early 2025 but Chandler is confidence with his prediction on who walks out with the title in that fight.
“Arman’s a very talented man but I think Islam’s just got too much for him,” Chandler said. “Islam is a man possessed. I think Islam is bigger, stronger, he’s got more skills. Obviously, I studied the Oliveira-Arman fight a lot, which was Charles’ last fight and he lost to Arman. I just don’t think he has enough to beat Islam.
“Islam, he’s got too much pressure, his wrestling is better, he’s improved a ton more since him and Arman have fought. Stylistically, I think Islam goes out there and wins, or at least I want him to because I want to compete for the title against Islam. I think that is the perfect way to win the title.”
Future plans to face McGregor and Makhachev won’t matter much if Chandler doesn’t get through Oliveira first, which is why he’s so excited about this particular matchup.
He’s mapping out an ideal scenario because Chandler wants to prove he can do it and that all starts on Saturday.
“It’s a dangerous, scary, exciting fight,” Chandler said about his rematch with Oliveira. “Huge opportunity. Dang is it hard to beat somebody in a rematch when you’ve already beat them. So he’s got all that pressure on him. I’ve got nothing to lose, everything to gain.”
