Written by Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC
Charles Oliveira and Michael Chandler are guaranteed fireworks.
The lightweights once again met in the octagon at UFC 309 on Saturday in New York and again it was Oliveira that emerged victorious, though this time Chandler pushed him to the limit. After dominating the majority of the first four rounds, Oliveira had to survive a daring comeback from Chandler in the final frame to secure a decision victory.
It was the second win over Chandler for Oliveira, who also defeated Chandler at UFC 262 in March 2021.
UFC CEO Dana White later announced that Oliveira and Chandler received the evening’s Fight of the Night award, meaning both fighters will be paid an extra $50,000. This is the third Fight of the Night for Chandler and the fifth bonus of his six-fight UFC career.
Oliveira entered UFC 309 owning the record for the most post-fight bonuses in UFC history and he extended that record to 20. This is the fourth time the Brazilian star has won Fight of the Night.
Bonus money also went to a trio of Performance of the Night winners: Jon Jones, Oban Elliott, and Ramiz Brahimaj.
Jones made easy work of Stipe Miocic as he defended his heavyweight title for the first time. After nearly finishing Miocic with ground-and-pound in the first, Jones outclassed Miocic in the standup and later finished him with a kick to the body followed by strikes in Round 3. Like Oliveira, Jones is no stranger to bonuses as he has now pocketed the 10th of his storied UFC career.
Elliott and Brahimaj both won bonuses for the first-time. Elliott floored Bassil Hafez with an incredible knockout in the final round, while Brahimaj needed less than a round to run through Mickey Gall.