‘Iron Mike’ Jacked To The Gills For UFC 309 Return Fight

‘Iron Mike’ is living up to his nickname in new photos as he prepares to take on Charles Oliveira in Madison Square Garden this November 16th.

It’s been over two long years since we’ve seen Michael Chandler step into the octagon, and the dude has gotten absolutely ripped over that time.

At UFC 274, “Iron Mike” hit Tony Ferguson with a front kick to the face that many dubbed their knockout of the year for 2022. He followed it up with a fiery pro wrestling style call out of Conor McGregor. It was effective … perhaps a bit too effective.

Chandler would go on to lost to Dustin Poirier at the UFC’s annual November foray to Madison Square Garden in November. After that he was selected as McGregor’s comeback fight. He’d coach opposite McGregor on the 31st season of The Ultimate Fighter. He’d sign a contract to fight Mac at UFC 303 in June, only to have “The Notorious” withdraw over a broken pinky. He’d wait for a verbally agreed upon December date, only for it to go up in smoke.

And finally, he accepted the McGregor fight wasn’t happening and agreed to fight Charles Oliveira at UFC 309 on November 16th. 735 days since his last fight.

You can’t say Chandler hasn’t kept busy, though.

While Conor McGregor has been drinking at bars to promote his booze empire, Michael Chandler has been lifting bars in anticipation of a fight. His Instagram was always awash in training photos and footage. Now he’s showing off all the lean gains he’s achieved as we roll into the final two weeks before his return. And hoo boy is this guy jacked.

So jacked, in fact, that his Instagram comments were littered with accusations that he must be on PEDs. Not so, according to Chandler. Just a few days ago he shared the latest test results from UFC’s partners at Drug Free Sports International.

“We are pleased to inform you that [your urine sample] which you provided on 15th October 2024 returned a NEGATIVE result from the lab,” an email from the testing company read. “Than you for your contribution in supporting a clean UFC.”

“For the naysayers and small minded commenters,” Chandler wrote above a picture of him flexing ever fiber of his being.

Chandler will need more than beef to walk away from UFC 309 with a win. Charles Oliveira is a tough opponent on any day and is coming into Madison Square Garden looking to reset after a disappointing two loss run. Can this new specimen that is returning after two years beat “Do Bronx,” or will ring rust outweigh any mass Mike has added over his lengthy absence from the cage?