Tag: UFC 309

Tom Aspinall Reveals What Surprised Him Most About Watching Jon Jones Up Close

Tom Aspinall claims that it wasn’t his intention to make the UFC 309 fight week about him even if he was weighing in as the back-up fighter. The main event at Madison Square Garden featured two of the greatest champions in the history of the promotion colliding for the very first time and yet, a […]

Tom Aspinall claims that it wasn’t his intention to make the UFC 309 fight week about him even if he was weighing in as the back-up fighter. The main event at Madison Square Garden featured two of the greatest champions in the history of the promotion colliding for the very first time and yet, a lot of the talk was about the Brit.

From Jones walking out of interviews to Aspinall chants at the press conference, the presence of the interim champion was clearly felt in New York. After successfully weighing in as the back-up, once it was clear that he wouldn’t be needed, he changed his focus.

His new goal was to enjoy the fights and watch the man that could be his next opponent if he gets the fight that he wants. Everyone who has been an MMA fan for some time will have seen Jones fight before because he’s been at the top for so long.

However, Aspinall was able to leave the world’s most famous arena with some new observations after watching the GOAT live and in the flesh. In a recent episode of Tom Aspinall’s Fight Lab on TNT Sports, he broke down his main takeaways from the fight.

The interim champ highlighted one aspect of the fight that he didn’t see coming, crediting Jones’ aura in the cage and Miocic’s age as the reason why “Bones” was able to dictate the action.

“Something that surprised me sitting up close was the footwork. Maybe not the footwork as such but just the constant forward motion of Jon Jones and Stipe was just kind of left to go side-to-side with his feet constantly. He was never really on the front foot which is surprising because Stipe is a natural heavyweight, Jon Jones obviously coming up from light heavy. I wouldn’t think that Jon would have the prowess in the Octagon to push him back constantly which I was pretty surprised by.”   

Former UFC Champ Dismantles Michael Chandler’s UFC 309 Remarks with a Savage Retort

Michael Chandler UFC 309 Rafael Dos Anjos Charles OliveiraMichael Chandler has stated that he believes he beats Charles Oliveira “nine times out of ten” despite having lost…

Michael Chandler UFC 309 Rafael Dos Anjos Charles Oliveira

Michael Chandler has stated that he believes he beats Charles Oliveira “nine times out of ten” despite having lost to him twice now.

Chandler did everything he could to defeat Oliveira at UFC 309 but fell short. The fans were ecstatic to witness a truly thrilling battle, and ‘Iron’ received a lot of praise for his grittiness and heart. However, when the judges’ scorecards were read, it was a unanimous decision victory for ‘Do Bronx’, and Chandler would go home with another loss.

Speaking to MMA journalist Ariel Helwani, ‘Iron’ opened up about his feelings concerning the skill gap between him and his Brazilian rival, saying: “I believe I beat Charles Oliveira nine times out of 10. Obviously I’ve lost twice to him now. Two out of two. I have 100% loss rate to Charles Oliveira. So I understand why people might tsk at that, roll their eyes at that.”

This would indeed turn out to be a statement that many would scoff at, as well as claims from Chandler that he did not hit Oliveira in the back of the head (which he made later in the interview with Helwani). This would leave a crafty opening for a former UFC champion to roast Michael Chandler, and it would not be an opportunity squandered.

Michael Chandler Gets Roasted by Rafael Dos Anjos over comments about UFC 309 fight

Replying to the “I’d beat Oliveira nine times out of ten” and “I didn’t hit him in the back of the head, it was the ear” talk, RDA took advantage of a perfect moment and cracked a funny on Instagram, saying: “You hit him on the back of the head nine times out of ten.”

7a05d 17330526665519 1920

To add insult to injury, Chandler is now a bleak 1-4 in his last five fights. While a genuinely exciting fighter to watch, nobody remains on the UFC roster for too long after going on too bad of a skid. Especially the older and higher-paid fighters, those seemingly make the most sense to let go.

So, it’s only a matter of time until we find out how much leeway Michael Chandler will be allotted in terms of losing fights. The UFC can be more lenient depending on the fighter and how easy they are to work with, and Chandler has proven himself to be a rather apt company man so far. But they say good times never last, and nobody can fight forever.

Do you think Michael Chandler should be worried about getting cut by the UFC?

Michael Chandler Can’t Math, Claims He’d Beat Charles Oliveira ‘Nine Times Out of 10’

Michael Chandler Can't Math, Claims He'd Beat Charles Oliveira 'Nine Times Out of 10'There’s a reason Michael Chandler fights inside a cage instead of teaching grade school math. After sitting on the…

Michael Chandler Can't Math, Claims He'd Beat Charles Oliveira 'Nine Times Out of 10'

There’s a reason Michael Chandler fights inside a cage instead of teaching grade school math.

After sitting on the sidelines for two years trying to coax Conor McGregor into a fight that was never going to happen, the former Bellator titleholder returned to the Octagon at UFC 309 for a rematch with former lightweight champion Charles Oliveira.

gettyimages 2185186973 612x612 1

The first time around, Chandler damn near finished ‘Do Bronx’ in the opening round. This time, Chandler could barely stay on his feet, getting outwrestled by a jiu-jitsu guy for the majority of their five-round affair in Madison Square Garden.

Looking back on his lackluster showing during a recent interview, Chandler made a rather confusing and downright delusional statement.

“I’m not happy with my performance. I would give myself a 2 out of 10,” Chandler said on The Ariel Helwani Show. “I cannot overstate how horrible of a performance this was or the set of circumstances it was after that first round compared to what my vision was for what I’m capable of. I believe I beat Charles Oliveira nine times out of ten. Obviously, I’ve lost to him twice now – two outta two. I have a 100% loss rate to Charles Oliveira, so I understand why people might roll their eyes at that” (h/t MMA Mania).

Somebody tell Mr. Chandler that his math ain’t mathing.

gettyimages 2185185812 612x612 1

Michael Chandler still holding out hope for McGregor Fight

Two weeks removed from fight night, Chandler is still in recovery mode after revealing that he was peeing blood and showed off some gnarly swelling to his left leg.

Chandler is still holding out hope that he’ll get his red panty night against Conor McGregor one day, but the chances of that happening aren’t looking too good these days.

Michael Chandler Unhappy With ‘Narrative’ Painted By UFC 309 Commentary Team: ‘I’m An Honest Guy’ 

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 […]

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.

Chris Weidman Discusses Not Getting Full Pay After Opponent’s UFC 309 Fight-Day Withdrawal

Former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman was left devastated and a sizable chunk of cash down when an illness to Eryk Anders scuppered his plans of competing at Madison Square Garden earlier this month. At UFC 309, Weidman was set for his second assignment of 2024 and third since returning from a gruesome broken leg […]

Former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman was left devastated and a sizable chunk of cash down when an illness to Eryk Anders scuppered his plans of competing at Madison Square Garden earlier this month.

At UFC 309, Weidman was set for his second assignment of 2024 and third since returning from a gruesome broken leg that had kept him out for two years. But his pursuit of a first win streak since 2015 will have to wait.

After completing his training camp, fight-week obligations, and successfully making weight, Weidman awoke on Saturday, Nov. 16, expecting to make the walk on MMA’s biggest stage for the 20th time.

But disaster struck just hours before his scheduled preliminary clash with Anders when a bout of food poisoning became too serious for the ex-American football linebacker to fight through.

That left a devastated Weidman off the card on late notice, with the New York State Athletic Commission rejecting the UFC’s attempts to book a same-day replacement opponent.

And worse still, it wasn’t just the chance to make it two wins on the bounce that the 40-year-old missed out on…

During a recent appearance on Monday’s episode of The Ariel Helwani Show on Uncrowned, Weidman explained that while he is expecting to be ‘taken care of’ in some way financially, he won’t be getting his full purse.

The American admitted the situation is difficult to take, especially given his compensation would have already been set aside and is ultimately now being kept by the UFC.

“My show money is my win money, I have guaranteed money,” Weidman said. “So that was my point, ‘I showed up, you guys had that on the budget sheet to begin with, you guys made a great night, why do you guys keep that money and I don’t?’ That was my thought.

“Their thoughts were, ‘Listen, this happens on like 40 percent of the cards. If we pay people to not fight…’ They just want to be consistent on what they do in those situations,” Weidman continued. “That’s what I think they’ve decided to do consistently for their business.”

The situation is similar to that of Stephen Thompson last year. He made public his disappointment at not being paid for his canceled fight with Michel Pereira at UFC 291, which fell through when the Brazilian missed weight after “Wonderboy” had already successfully got under the welterweight limit.

Fortunately for Weidman, he won’t have to wait long to pick up a full check for sharing the cage with Anders. The pair’s clash has been rescheduled for UFC 310 in Las Vegas on Dec. 7, this time at a catchweight of 195 pounds.

Chris Weidman Discusses Not Getting Full Pay After Opponent’s UFC 309 Fight-Day Withdrawal

Former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman was left devastated and a sizable chunk of cash down when an illness to Eryk Anders scuppered his plans of competing at Madison Square Garden earlier this month. At UFC 309, Weidman was set for his second assignment of 2024 and third since returning from a gruesome broken leg […]

Former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman was left devastated and a sizable chunk of cash down when an illness to Eryk Anders scuppered his plans of competing at Madison Square Garden earlier this month.

At UFC 309, Weidman was set for his second assignment of 2024 and third since returning from a gruesome broken leg that had kept him out for two years. But his pursuit of a first win streak since 2015 will have to wait.

After completing his training camp, fight-week obligations, and successfully making weight, Weidman awoke on Saturday, Nov. 16, expecting to make the walk on MMA’s biggest stage for the 20th time.

But disaster struck just hours before his scheduled preliminary clash with Anders when a bout of food poisoning became too serious for the ex-American football linebacker to fight through.

That left a devastated Weidman off the card on late notice, with the New York State Athletic Commission rejecting the UFC’s attempts to book a same-day replacement opponent.

And worse still, it wasn’t just the chance to make it two wins on the bounce that the 40-year-old missed out on…

During a recent appearance on Monday’s episode of The Ariel Helwani Show on Uncrowned, Weidman explained that while he is expecting to be ‘taken care of’ in some way financially, he won’t be getting his full purse.

The American admitted the situation is difficult to take, especially given his compensation would have already been set aside and is ultimately now being kept by the UFC.

“My show money is my win money, I have guaranteed money,” Weidman said. “So that was my point, ‘I showed up, you guys had that on the budget sheet to begin with, you guys made a great night, why do you guys keep that money and I don’t?’ That was my thought.

“Their thoughts were, ‘Listen, this happens on like 40 percent of the cards. If we pay people to not fight…’ They just want to be consistent on what they do in those situations,” Weidman continued. “That’s what I think they’ve decided to do consistently for their business.”

The situation is similar to that of Stephen Thompson last year. He made public his disappointment at not being paid for his canceled fight with Michel Pereira at UFC 291, which fell through when the Brazilian missed weight after “Wonderboy” had already successfully got under the welterweight limit.

Fortunately for Weidman, he won’t have to wait long to pick up a full check for sharing the cage with Anders. The pair’s clash has been rescheduled for UFC 310 in Las Vegas on Dec. 7, this time at a catchweight of 195 pounds.