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Charles Oliveira Survives Late Rally to Win Michael Chandler Rematch at UFC 309

"Do Bronx" improved to 2-0 over Chandler with a largely-dominant showing at UFC 309.

Drew Beaupre

(Zuffa LLC

The co-main event of UFC 309 was a highly-anticipated lightweight rematch between Charles Oliveira and Michael Chandler.

Oliveira Survies Late Rally From Chandler

The first meeting between the two men served as the headlining attraction for UFC 262, where Oliveira stopped Chandler with strikes early in the second round to claim the promotion's vacant lightweight title.

UFC 309 Live Results & Highlights – Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic

"Iron Mike" proceeded to go 1-2 across his next three outings with a highlight-reel knockout of Tony Ferguson in between losses to Justin Gaethje and Dustin Poirier, but last year Chandler appeared poised for the biggest fight of his career when he and Conor McGregor served as opposing coaches on The Utimate Fighter 31.

Chandler tolerated numerous delays to the matchup before the two men were finally scheduled to headline UFC 303, but when "The Notorious" withdrew from that card the 38-year-old elected to move on and was booked to meet Oliveira as the co-main event for Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic.

The fight marked Chandler's first appearance in the Octagon in two years, and after the pair spent the opening two minutes exchanging on the feet Oliveira shot for an unexpected takedown attempt that put the former Bellator champion on his back for the rest of the round.

The two men resumed striking to start the second round, and it was Oliveira who started landing some significant shots that visibly rattled Chandler before the Brazilian once again got to top position and rained down some nasty ground and pound from mount until the bell sounded.

The third round and fourth rounds followed similar patterns of Oliveira landing big shots on the feet before choosing to bring things to the mat, but in the final frame Chandler dropped the former champion and very nearly pulled off an improbable comeback before ultimately losing out on the scorecards.

UFC 309 Winner Reminds Joe Rogan of Prime Conor McGregor

Both men were given post-fight interviews, which Oliveira used to called for a shot at the winner of an expected Islam Makhachev vs. Arman Tsarukyan lightweight title bout while Chandler delivered a fiery callout for McGregor.

The lightweight co-main event followed a three-fight run of decisions that kicked off the UFC 309 PPV, which included an upset-win from Viviane Araujo against Karine Silva and a surprisingly striking-heavy performance from Bo Nickal against Paul Craig.

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Drew Beaupre
DREW BEAUPRE

Drew is an MMA writer that regularly watches regional events in addition to major promotions such as the UFC, PFL, Bellator, and ONE Championship. He joined MMA Knockout when it was founded in 2023.

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