Tag: UFC

Michael Chandler On What’s Changed Since First Charles Oliveira Fight: ‘A Star Was Born That Night’

Michael Chandler is out for revenge at UFC 309 when he faces Charles Oliveira in the co-main event at Madison Square Garden. The two men first met back at UFC 262 where only one of two storybook moments could happen. Either the former Bellator star was going to finally make his way into the UFC […]

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Michael Chandler is out for revenge at UFC 309 when he faces Charles Oliveira in the co-main event at Madison Square Garden. The two men first met back at UFC 262 where only one of two storybook moments could happen.

Either the former Bellator star was going to finally make his way into the UFC and in two fights, become the lightweight champion or “Do Bronx” would finally win the big one after years of being on the roster. Chandler is happy to admit that it was Oliveira’s night back in 2021 where his dream of winning the gold was temporarily shattered.

Though he didn’t get the Conor McGregor fight that he waited so long for, this opportunity to avenge his loss to the former champion and get himself back in the title picture was the kind of chance that he knew he has to grab with both hands. In a recent interview with CBS Sports’ Shakiel Mahjouri, Chandler spoke about what has changed since his first encounter with Oliveira.

He believes that for all of the experience that he accumulated outside of the UFC, he’s a far different competitor now compared to the one that was making just his second appearance inside the Octagon.

“I was extremely green, extremely early at that point when I fought Charles and yes, I had been fighting for years, I was 34-years old, had 20-something fights but at that point in time, I had only competed in the Octagon for a little over two minutes. I had just beaten Dan Hooker, knocked him out in two and a half minutes… I was inexperienced. Charles, I think a star was born that night. That was really the night, whenever Charles became champion, and then he went on the run and he beat Gaethje, he beat Poirier, and he really became the champion and really solidified himself.”

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Bo Nickal Explains The Hardest Part Of Transitioning To MMA And Which Aspects Came Easy To Him

At UFC 309, Bo Nickal looks to continue his ascent up the middleweight ladder by earning just the seventh win of his professional career. It’s not normal for a fighter with this much experience to be competing against a seasoned contender like Paul Craig on the main card at Madison Square Garden. Nickal’s highly credentialed […]

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At UFC 309, Bo Nickal looks to continue his ascent up the middleweight ladder by earning just the seventh win of his professional career. It’s not normal for a fighter with this much experience to be competing against a seasoned contender like Paul Craig on the main card at Madison Square Garden.

Nickal’s highly credentialed wrestling background singled him out as a super prospect from the moment he decided to begin training in MMA. His grappling gives him a huge advantage over many opponents but of course, developing the rest of his skillset is crucial to his success.

That will be put to the test in his fight against Scotland’s Craig who is an incredibly dangerous submission threat, specifically off his back. With Nickal making it clear that he won’t hesitate to test his own jiu-jitsu skills, this might be the first fight where we see him need to utilize his whole arsenal to get the victory.

During a recent podcast interview with Demetrious Johnson on The MightyCast, Nickal spoke about which aspects of the sport have been the easiest to pick up and which have taken him more time to get up to speed with.

“It’s interesting, I picked up jiu-jitsu pretty quick. Obviously still learning, still growing, trying to improve that area of my game but the jiu-jitsu came pretty fast. I always had a wrestling style that I think fit just because I was rolling on my back a lot. Like if I had to roll to my back to give up a couple points or to get the pin or to get some points, I was never afraid to do that and you mentioned earlier like I wrestled predominantly folk style but as a kid, I wrestled tons of freestyle and Greco, almost just as much as I had wrestled folk style and so just those different styles and I think my experience with scrambling and different things like that, I was really comfortable with that.”

Nickal then spoke about the aspect of the sport have been the hardest for him to pick up. Unsurprisingly, it’s an element of his striking that has taken him the most time to get used to given his grappling background.

“The hardest thing for me to learn honestly like kicks. Calf kicks, body kicks, throwing kicks, checking kicks. It’s like such a different thing and you have to be so loose. I noticed like at first when I’m throwing kicks and stuff, I can throw like three or four kicks and I’m gassed out.”

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Former Opponent Says He Massively Enjoyed Watching Brandon Moreno’s Bounce Back Win: ‘This Is What I Want To See’

#1-Ranked flyweight contender Brandon Royval was watching closely this past weekend as the UFC returned to Edmonton for a Fight Night event. In the main event, former champion Brandon Moreno reminded everyone just how good he can be. The Mexican star put on a dominant performance to hand Amir Albazi his first loss inside the […]

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#1-Ranked flyweight contender Brandon Royval was watching closely this past weekend as the UFC returned to Edmonton for a Fight Night event. In the main event, former champion Brandon Moreno reminded everyone just how good he can be.

The Mexican star put on a dominant performance to hand Amir Albazi his first loss inside the Octagon, looking back to his best after suffering consecutive losses in his last two outings. His boxing skills and speed have always been two of his best attributes but it’s been a while since we really saw him control a fight from start to finish.

Earlier this year, Moreno faced Royval in a rematch in Mexico City where after losing a split decision, he announced that he would be taking some time off. Though Moreno didn’t stay away from the gym for too long, the time with his family clearly led to him coming back revitalized and Royval enjoyed seeing that from him.

The result seemingly worked out in favor of “Raw Dawg” who could have found himself waiting behind Albazi in line for a title shot if he had got his hand raised given his winning streak in the division.

In a recent interview with MMA Junkie, Royval said though he’s happy Moreno won because of the impact it has on his standing in the current title picture, he was excited to see his former foe looking dialled in and on point in Canada.

“I thought he looked sick bro, I had such a good time watching him. I liked the look in his eye when he walked out like the moment he walked out, I was like alright cool, this is what I want to see. It was like a p***** off Brandon Moreno ready to go and he fought with the f****** attitude and a chip on his shoulder and I love that, I love to see that.”

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Jon Jones Picks Alex Pereira Over Tom Aspinall As Preferred Next Opponent

Jon Jones will defend his UFC heavyweight championship for the first time against Stipe Miocic at UFC 309. After winning the title against Ciryl Gane in March 2023, the newly crowned champion suffered a shoulder injury that delayed his fight with the former UFC heavyweight kingpin. While many fans are interested in watching two legends […]

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Jon Jones will defend his UFC heavyweight championship for the first time against Stipe Miocic at UFC 309. After winning the title against Ciryl Gane in March 2023, the newly crowned champion suffered a shoulder injury that delayed his fight with the former UFC heavyweight kingpin.

While many fans are interested in watching two legends face each other before they hang up their gloves, others simply want the UFC heavyweight division to move forward. Tom Aspinall has defended his interim UFC heavyweight belt once and has finished most top contenders in the first round.

Jones is a considerable favorite against Miocic, and while he’s teased retirement in the past, he discussed potential future opponents during an interview on the Kevin Iole YouTube channel.

“Tom Aspinall, is, I don’t want to say nobody but, he just hasn’t proven anything. He hasn’t done anything and I understand that, I mean he won his belt against Sergei. Sergei just got slaughtered by someone else, so, it’s just like, I’m not here to gamble someone else making a name off of me,” He continued. “A guy that’s still on our UFC roster that would be, not only financially worth it, but, legacy worth it, would be Alex Pereira.”

When asked if he would fight Aspinall after beating Miocic, Jones outright rejected the current interim UFC heavyweight champion. He compared the English heavyweight to Johnny Walker, who many thought could dethrone “Bones” at light heavyweight.

“Bones” mentioned that he’s accepted a fair amount of risky fights back in the day, and he now only expects an opponent that makes sense to him financially and legacy-wise. On these grounds, he named Alex Pereira a more exciting fight than Aspinall.

Unsurprisingly, “Bones” is being called out for not giving any credit at all to an interim champion with a title defense. That said, it’s hard to speculate on the future of the heavyweight division accurately until the UFC 309 main event concludes.

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Michael Chandler Targets ‘Craziest’ Fight Run Against Makhachev, Holloway & McGregor

Michael Chandler has been out of action for almost two years, having last fought Dustin Poirier in November 2022. Outside of TUF 31, he’s spent most of this time waiting for Conor McGregor, but after the upheaval around UFC 303, he finally moved on to fight Charles Oliveira at UFC 309. Following his razor-close split […]

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Michael Chandler has been out of action for almost two years, having last fought Dustin Poirier in November 2022. Outside of TUF 31, he’s spent most of this time waiting for Conor McGregor, but after the upheaval around UFC 303, he finally moved on to fight Charles Oliveira at UFC 309.

Following his razor-close split decision loss to Arman Tsarukyan at UFC 300, Oliveira is currently the #2 ranked UFC lightweight in the world. So, defeating him should put Chandler in line for a title shot.

Chandler fought frequently in the UFC since his debut against Dan Hooker. It appears he wants to compensate for the two-year hiatus by fighting as many high-profile names as possible before 2025.

Chandler recently appeared on the SHAK MMA YouTube channel for an interview. When asked if he would fight McGregor or Makhachev after a win over Oliveira, “Iron” stated that getting the UFC lightweight title is his priority. He also feels the need to settle the rivalry with “The Notorious” which began with TUF 31.

“The title is the number one goal but there is some unfinished business. Chandler vs. McGregor TUF 31, it needs, that chapter needs to close to some point. Conor wants that fight. He’s talked about it openly in public, in interviews. Obviously, I want that fight. I’m not focused on it right now. I’m focused on Charles, but it’ll be interesting you know. Because you also got to remember, Islam is fighting probably in January, could be late January. He’s gonna go into Ramadan in February, all of March, won’t be able to go till training camp, won’t be able to fight till June July. I’m not trying to wait till June or July. So, Conor could sneak in there, we could see Chandler vs. Oliveira, Chandler vs. Conor, Chandler vs. Islam, Chandler vs. Max. The craziest four or five fight-run in a 12-month period that anyone’s ever seen.”

Besides Makhachev and McGregor, “Iron” is also interested in fighting former UFC featherweight champion and the reigning BMF champion Max Holloway in 2025. Fans have been eagerly waiting to see this fight too, as both fighters boast an aggressive, fearless, and striking-heavy fighting style.

It’ll be interesting to see how many superfights Chandler can be a part of before the end of 2025. For now, he needs to focus on beating Oliveira, who already holds a TKO win over him.

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Dana White & Jon Jones Share Contradictory Answers On If Aspinall Fight Will Happen After UFC 309

Dana White and Jon Jones recently offered starkly different opinions on whether the much-anticipated fight with Tom Aspinall will come to fruition following UFC 309. Jones is set to make the first defense of his heavyweight title against Stipe Miocic on Nov. 16 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The two were originally […]

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Dana White and Jon Jones recently offered starkly different opinions on whether the much-anticipated fight with Tom Aspinall will come to fruition following UFC 309.

Jones is set to make the first defense of his heavyweight title against Stipe Miocic on Nov. 16 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The two were originally scheduled to face off at UFC 295 in November 2023, but the fight was scrapped at the last minute after “Bones” suffered a torn pectoral muscle.

As a result, Aspinall stepped in to claim the interim heavyweight title with a stunning knockout of Sergei Pavlovich. Since then, the Brit has been outspoken about his desire to face Jones in a title unification bout. However, the former light heavyweight champion has repeatedly brushed off the idea, with the UFC CEO also firmly asserting that Jones’ next challenge will remain Miocic.

Both Jones and Miocic have repeatedly suggested that their upcoming bout could mark the end of their careers. Despite that, in a recent interview with TNT Sports, White expressed his belief that the winner of UFC 309 would likely face Aspinall next.

But during an interview with MMA reporter Kevin Iole, “Bones” outright rejected the notion of facing Aspinall next should he emerge victorious against Miocic next weekend.

Jones argued that the interim heavyweight champion has yet to prove himself worthy of facing him in the Octagon.

“I feel like Tom Aspinall is — I don’t want to say nobody, but he just hasn’t proven anything; he hasn’t done anything. And I understand that, I mean, he won his belt against Sergei, but Sergei just got slaughtered by someone else. So it’s just like, I’m not here to gamble with someone else making a name off of me.”

Jones went on to say that he’s primarily focused on competing against high-profile opponents, those capable of elevating his already storied career. At the moment, reigning UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Alex Pereira is the opponent who piques his interest the most.

“If there were to be a fight with a guy that’s still on our UFC roster that would be not only financially worth it but legacy-worthy, it would be Alex Pereira. Alex Pereira and I are both 37 years old right now. I weigh about 235 [pounds]; I’m an incredibly light heavyweight. I think Pereira walks around at 240, and I think that fight would add much more to my legacy than a young man who’s cool today and maybe gone tomorrow.”

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