"He was blatantly cheating" - Fans outraged over Michael Chandler's "delusional" denial of alleged back-of-the-head shots against Charles Oliveira
Michael Chandler recently dismissed allegations of landing back-of-the-head strikes on Charles Oliveira. The two fighters faced off in a rematch in the co-main event of UFC 309 last weekend, where Oliveira delivered a commanding performance to claim a unanimous decision victory after an intense five-round showdown.
'Iron' struggled to gain control as he was consistently outstruck by Oliveira throughout the fight. In a desperate fifth-round comeback, he landed a powerful right hand before delivering a series of hammer fists, some of which raised concerns for allegedly targeting the back of his opponent’s head.
During a recent appearance on Bussin’ With The Boys, Chandler brushed off claims of striking 'Do Bronx' on the back of the head. He maintained that his blows landed squarely on Oliveira’s ears and argued that referee Keith Peterson would have intervened if the strikes were indeed illegal.
Check out Michael Chandler's comments below (34:00):
Fans responded to Chandler’s justification of his controversial strikes against Oliveira with a mix of reactions, with some accusing 'Iron' of having a habit of bending the rules in his fights.
One fan wrote:
"So glad to see this guy fail, no accountability whatsoever, he was blatantly cheating and hasn’t even addressed it; there’s a reason he didn’t [do] a post-fight interview; he’s hoping everyone just forgets what he did."
Another wrote:
"This guy is delusional."
Another commented:
"Shameless prick. We all saw, yet he still lies."
Check out some more reactions below:
The rules regarding strikes to the back of the head are typically applied in a way that if a fighter’s fist makes contact with the opponent’s ear, referees generally allow it.
However, in Chandler's situation, while his glove did make contact with Oliveira's ear, it appeared that his entire forearm was coming down hard into the back of Oliveira's head.
Charles Oliveira blasts referee for ignoring Michael Chandler’s repeated fouls at UFC 309
At the UFC 309 post-event press conference, Charles Oliveira appeared reluctant to directly criticize Michael Chandler for his multiple fouls.
However, he didn’t hold back in expressing his frustration with referee Keith Peterson, as he did not intervene or issue a warning to 'Iron' for the illegal strikes. Oliveira said through a translator:
"You know, I’m not here to criticize, but I want to tell you something; there were a lot of blows to the back of the head, a lot of fence grabbing, there was also some eye-pokes, and I was telling him [the referee] what was going on. I kept calling for his attention, and nothing would happen. I’d hoped that he would intervene, but nothing happened, so I’m not here to criticize."
Check out Charles Oliveira's comments below: