Michael Chandler was supposed to fight Conor McGregor at UFC 303 last June. The fight was canceled after McGregor suffered a toe injury.
UFC 309 is scheduled to take place on Saturday, November 16 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. On Friday, UFC CEO Dana White revealed that Michael Chandler (23-8) will face Charles Oliveira (34-10, 1 NC) in a five-round co-main event at UFC 309. In their first encounter, Chandler lost to Oliveira via TKO in the second round for the vacant UFC Lightweight Championship at UFC 262.
On his YouTube channel, Michael Chandler explained why he chose to fight Charles Oliveira instead of Conor McGregor. Chandler said he wants to become the No. 1 contender for the Lightweight Title.
“I took a quick little detour to chase this thing [McGregor fight]… I got more promo, more eyeballs, [and] more of everything in the last year and a half than I would have gotten in three fights, and now I get the opportunity to take a title run. I beat Charles Oliveira, I [will] become the No. 1 contender. I beat Charles Oliveira, I can choose to go fight Islam [Makhachev] or Arman [Tsarukyan]. I believe it’s going to be Islam. Or, if Conor [McGregor] can finally get his house in order and put together a training camp, and show up to a fight, maybe I go fight Conor and we finish The Ultimate Fighter 31. This is the ultimate bet on yourself… I still have [the McGregor fight], even though the fight is still to be determined. But I am pivoting. Why? Because I’m a fighter through and through, and I think you guys have forgotten that. Nobody would have had the balls to make this decision and bet on themselves like this. And for me, this is personal. This is a revenge fight. Charles Oliveira stole my dream of becoming a UFC champion. My number one goal, becoming the No. 1 guy in the entire world. So now we’re going to go beat him in the rematch.”
– Michael Chandler
On Friday, Conor McGregor attended the BKFC 66 post-fight press conference, where he was asked about Chandler fighting Oliveira.
“I got tested today by the drug-free sports agency. I’m the most tested athlete on the roster by more than twice the amount. I believe I’ve tested 13 times. All these other athletes, yet I’m struggling to get a date. So, I talked to Sheikh Turki [Alalshikh] and said, ‘Can you assist me?’
As far as Chandler rematching Oliveira, I’m happy with the date. It’s November. Maybe we can still do it after, if they’re not going to line me up until December, maybe January or February, one of these dates. Maybe we can still do it. I’m just a bit out of the loop with it. All I can do is carry on doing what I’m doing. I test under the testing administration, I train daily, and that’s it. Let’s see what happens. Hopefully, it all comes to fruition.”
– Conor McGregor
— JustTheFights3 (@JustTheFights3) September 14, 2024
At the UFC 306 press event, Dana White said that he is confident Conor McGregor will return in 2025.