UFC 309 blew the roof off Madison Square Garden in New York City this past weekend (Sat., Nov. 16, 2024), leaving several fighters feeling the post-fight blues. Among them was Paul Craig, who was out-classed by Bo Nickal on the feet for 15 minutes (yes, really) en route to dropping a unanimous decision.
And Stipe Miocic, who was knocked out by Jon Jones in the UFC 309’s pay-per-view (PPV) event via spinning back kick (see it again here), leading to his eventual mixed martial arts (MMA) retirement. And Mickey Gall, who suffered his fourth straight defeat after getting flatlined by Ramiz Brahimaj in the first round (see it here).
But, which fighter is suffering from the worst post-fight hangover now a few days removed from the show?
Coming into his rematch against Charles Oliveira, “Iron” was looking to get one back against “Do Bronx” after the Brazilian bomber knocked him out in their initial fight back at UFC 262. Plus, it was the former Bellator MMA Lightweight champion’s first taste of action in two years since he spent the majority of that absence waiting on Conor McGregor.
Kidding aside, Chandler came up short after Oliveira dominated the majority of the fight (four rounds to be exact). Through the first 20 minutes, Oliveira walked down his foe, out-struck him on the feet and controlled him on the ground.
In the fifth and final frame, however, Chandler went for broke and connected on a couple of huge shots (some of them illegal), that seemed to have “Do Bronx” on the ropes. Once he escaped danger, Oliveira secured the takedown and Chandler’s back to ride out the clock.
For Chandler, that is now his fourth loss in last five fights, bringing his record to a paltry 2-4 inside the Octagon. That simply isn’t good. That said, what masks the stink of that record is that Chandler is super entertaining — even in defeat — and always goes out swinging.
Afterward, Chandler continued to lobby for the elusive (and lucrative) McGregor showdown.
“Conor and I need to finish The Ultimate Fighter 31 — if he comes back,” Chandler said on UFC 309’s post-fight show (via MMA Fighting). “He either needs to retire and just sail off into the sunset or he needs to come back. So, we’ll see what happens.”
I understand the reason(s) Chandler wants the McGregor fight from a financial standpoint, but he is going to continues to lose potential career-defining opportunities by sitting idle again, hoping “Notorious” makes a comeback, which has now been pushed back until late 2025.
There are several other fights for Chandler, and one I would love to see is between him and Max Holloway. “Blessed” revealed that he would be making a permanent move up to Lightweight following his knockout loss at the hands of Ilia Topuria (see it here), so why not make the most entertaining fight possible?
Both Holloway and Chandler know nothing else than to push forward, and if neither of them are close to a 155-pound title shot just yet, so let’s go ahead book this one for the fans.
For complete UFC 309 results, coverage and highlights click HERE.