Not one person was on their seat as Charles Oliveira and Michael Chandler put on a classic in the UFC 309 co-main event in Madison Square Garden on Saturday night.
At the end of five rounds, Oliveira won all three score cards, 49-46, 49-46, 49-45, in an absolute barn burner of a rematch.
In a showdown he won soundly for the first four rounds, Oliveira almost saw himself knocked out in the fifth when Chandler landed his heavy hands and pounced on the former lightweight champion.
Later in the round, Oliveira took Chandler’s back to attempt a signature submission finish. Throwing caution to the wind, Chandler looked toward Donald Trump and slammed Oliveira twice in the center of the Octagon.
Nonetheless, the fight went to the judges, who all favored Oliveira after he controlled much of the contest despite Chandler having his moments.
Charles Oliveira scored a unanimous decision over Michael Chandler at UFC 309 in New York
Oliveira and Chandler put on a classic at Madison Square Garden in a long-awaited rematch
Chandler and Oliveira met in the Octagon again, three years after slugging it out for the 155lb title vacated by Khabib Nurmagomedov in 2021.
In their first meeting, Chandler came seconds away from winning UFC gold in his sophomore effort in the organization before Oliveira was ultimately saved by the horn in the first round.
Do Bronxs secured a second-round TKO over Chandler and submitted Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje in the following outings. However, he forfeited the title after missing weight for the Gaethje fight.
The Brazilian lost to Islam Makhachev in the bout for the vacant belt. He then knocked Beniel Dariush out in the first round before falling in the No. 1 contender fight against Arman Tsarukyan at UFC 300.
On the other hand, Chandler sandwiched a spectacular knockout over Tony Ferguson between losses to Gaethje and Poirier, both at Madison Square Garden.
Chandler nearly knocked Oliveira out in the fifth round, as the crowd at MSG cheered loudly
Oliveira had Chandler on his back foot for most of the 25-minute lightweight division affair
The Missouri native then took a long layoff, waiting for the Conor McGregor comeback fight that was signed, sealed, but not delivered.
The pair went head to head in a season of The Ultimate Fighter in 2023 and were set to headline International Fight Week in July before McGregor pulled out with an injury.
Whether or not the sport’s biggest star will step in the Octagon again remains a question, hence Chandler taking the rematch with Oliveira rather than waiting and training in vain for McGregor.
Chandler remained true to his wishes to welcome McGregor back to the cage by calling The Notorious out after the fight. The loss moved Iron Mike to 28-9.
On the other hand, Oliveira moved to 35-10 and put himself in pole position to fight the winner between Makhachev and Tsarukyan for the title.