Written by Charles Oliveira and Michael Chandler | Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC
Michael Chandler will finally re-enter the octagon later this year, and it won’t be his long-awaited match with Conor McGregor. Instead, he rematches Charles Oliveira in a five-round co-main event bout at UFC 309 on Nov. 16. The Brazilian won’t criticize him for staying on the sidelines so long waiting for “The Notorious”.
The UFC officially announced Chandler and McGregor as The Ultimate Fighter season 31 coaches back in February 2023, a show that only aired nearly four months later. Fast forward 16 months, and several cancelled plans in between, and Chandler is officially no longer fighting McGregor.
“It’s complicated because we’re not in his shoes and no one knows what was negotiated,” Oliveira said in an interview with MMA Fighting. “If he waited two years without getting paid anything, so that’s two years away. But do you think someone would wait [without getting paid]? They did TUF, so he definitely made some money there. Was he paid his show money when Conor pulled out [of UFC 303]? So, in reality, people talk and talk and talk, but no one knows what the reality is.
“I’m not here to criticize anyone. If he waited, that’s because it was good for him. I hope it was good for him because two years with no fights is a lot and Chandler has a family to provide to, and when you have a family to provide to, a small child, you have to make things happen, so I hope it went well for him.”
Although he won’t criticize Chandler for his decisions, Oliveira probably wouldn’t have done the same — especially knowing how much he loves to compete, and how much that time away can affect your performance when you return.
“I can speak only for myself, and I don’t feel the timing of the fight when I’m away for so long,” said Oliveira, who last entered the cage in April of 2024, losing a close split decision to Arman Tsarukyan. “I like to stay on rhythm and competing, you know? Of course, not taking one fight right after the other because this is MMA and we’re breaking each other every day, but I feel like it takes some time to find myself when I’m away for too long. Chandler hasn’t fought in two years, and I don’t know how he’s doing, if he was resting of not.”
Chandler has likely done more than one full camp preparing specifically for McGregor after seeing the fight pushed back multiple times, and Oliveira has a different fighting style. The duo battled for a vacant title back at UFC 262 in 2021, and Oliveira was dropped before coming back and finishing Chandler with punches early in round two.
“He’s still an explosive guy who walks forward,” Oliveira said of Chandler. “We know we have to stay focused like we’ve been in my last fights, not worrying about what my opponent can bring to the cage and more on what I can bring. We’ll watch our last fight, and his recent one, so we can impose the rhythm and do my game and put on a great fight. Like I said, he’s very explosive, very dangerous, and he hits hard, so we have to plan things out right to get there 100 percent for the fight.”
With Tsarukyan likely next for UFC gold against champion Islam Makhachev in early 2025, Oliveira said he hopes to position himself in line with a victory over Chandler, but knows a McGregor match-up could also be on the horizon. He, however, would rather embrace a chance to re-gain UFC gold rather that fight “The Notorious” next after UFC 309.
“Am I next in line if I beat McGregor? If that’s the plan, then I’m 100 percent in. But if you say, ‘No, you have to choose one of the two,’ I’m definitely going for the title,” Oliveira said. “If I have the opportunity to fight Conor and we make a lot of money, because he sells a lot and so do I — and we would definitely brow the roofs off with this pay-per-view —, not to mention the money off the purse, and I’m still next for the belt, I would definitely do it. Why not?”
“[My managers Diego Lima and Jorge Patino] know what my plan is, I want the fights that take me to the belt,” he continued. “I’ve been posting a lot these days, ‘waiting for the boss to call’, and the UFC definitely sees that. Diego and ‘Macaco’ came with the Chandler fight, and I’m definitely much closer to the title with a win over Chandler. I’ll just stay focused now. Chandler is super tough and deserves all the respect. He knows how much I respect and care for him, so it’s definitely going to be a great fight.”