After the abysmal fallout of his ambitious million-dollar bout against Conor McGregor, Michael Chandler is looking forward to his upcoming UFC 309 co-main event against former lightweight champion, Charles Oliveira. In fact, Chandler is now poised for a banger at Madison Square Garden, thrilled to have the opportunity to fight for the lightweight title if he gets past the Brazilian.
In a recent exclusive to MMA Junkie, the ex-Bellator champion spoke about how he intends to take on the P4P best, Islam Makhachev after he’s done with ‘De Bronx.’
“I’ll go through Charles Oliveira in November and Islam (Makhachev) I believe it’s going to be in 2025… I wasn’t willing to wait anymore and Charles Oliveira is the perfect opponent, #1 contender fight five rounds co-main event, Madison Square garden under Jon Jones and Stipe (Miocic), its huge, it’s a huge opportunity.”
Michael Chandler says his title path is clear ahead of #UFC309.
"I'll go through Charles Oliveira in November, then Islam (Makhachev) I believe it's going to be in 2025." pic.twitter.com/oo0zRvNVvS
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) September 26, 2024
It’s all easier said than done considering Oliveira has already finished him off in their first fight. To win against Oliveira, the All American wrestler will have to be a lot more patient and hopefully take a break from trying to be a 25-minute highlight reel. It simply doesn’t work that way and nobody knows that better than Chandler .
Losses to Dustin Poirier, Justin Gaethje and Charles Oliveira ought to have put that lesson in his head. And if he indeed intend to fight for Islam Makhachev’s lightweight title, then trying to murder him with every punch is a rather unintelligent way to go about it.
Now, that said, Makhachev is currently battling an injury and is likely to face Arman Tsarukyan upon his return. So, is there a chance that the Chandler vs. McGregeor fight might still go on as planned? Or is the Notorious planning on fighting someone else?
Is Chandler vs. McGregor still a possibility?
The right answer is yes, it is. Now, there is nothing official since nobody can make up their mind about when the Irishman returns to the octagon, or if he will ever return to active fighting. That said, the ‘Mystic Mac’ has two fights left on his UFC contract and he wants to get both of them done in 2025.
Now, if Chandler wins against Oliveira, he will still probably have to wait for the Makhachev and Tsarukyan. And in that time, if McGregor becomes an active fighter, who knows? The money definitely will be worth it for the NCAA Division I wrestler to consider it with all his heart.
And if Chandler loses to Oliveira again, he can kiss that UFC gold goodbye since Makhchev won’t let him anywhere near sniffing distance, which is exactly where McGregor would want him.
So, is this a gamble on Chandler’s part? Given the way he fights, none will be too surprised to see him at least try.
