Michael Chandler reflects on loss to Charles Oliveira ahead of rematch at UFC 309: "Most painful point in my career"
Michael Chandler recently reflected on his loss to Charles Oliveira ahead of their highly anticipated rematch at UFC 309 this Saturday. With a lot a stake, the winner of the rematch could very well secure a lightweight title shot.
The upcoming UFC 309 bout is a rematch of their 2021 encounter, which saw 'Do Bronx' rally back from nearly being finished and earning a second-round TKO to win the vacant UFC lightweight championship. Since then, both fighters have gone through their fair share of ups and downs inside the octagon and could experience a resurgence should they win spectacularly.
During his latest appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, the former Bellator lightweight champion opened up about his loss to Oliveira being tough to deal with, considering the significance of becoming a UFC champion. Chandler described the loss as his most painful because of being 35 years old and the unknown of whether he would receive another title shot:
"That [loss to Oliveira] was, probably, the most painful point in my career after a loss. That was my one opportunity, I thought that was my one opportunity [to become UFC champion]... It's the what have you done for me lately business. It is you lose and all the sudden I'm the flavor of the week this week, people are excited to watch me fight. You lose, what happens next? Are you able to build yourself back?"
Check out Michael Chandler's comments below:
Michael Chandler expresses excitement to avenge his loss to Charles Oliveira
In addition to describing the difficulty dealing with his loss to Charles Oliveira, Michael Chandler expressed his excitement to be able to avenge his loss when they compete in the co-main event of UFC 309.
During the aforementioned clip, Chandler mentioned that he looks forward to avenging the loss and noted that a win over 'Do Bronx' could open up plenty of opportunities:
"Charles Oliveira shattered that dream [of me being the No. 1 guy in the world]. And now it's just so serendipitous that now I get this opportunity against him again to right that wrong and get back in the win column... to then becoming the No. 1 contender to then fight widely regarded one of the greatest lightweights of all time in who I think will be Islam [Makhachev]."
Check out Charles Oliveira's reaction to defeating Michael Chandler at UFC 262 below: