Michael Chandler and Charles Oliveira Rematch at UFC 309
The UFC 309 co-main event saw Oliveira and Michael Chandler clash in a rematch from 2021. Oliveira put on a dominant display against the American and won by unanimous decision over 5 rounds.
Chandler’s biggest moment came when he dropped ‘Do Bronxs’ in the 5th and final round.
‘Iron’ seized the opportunity and followed up on the knockdown with a flurry of strikes. Many of which were said to be illegal by both the commentary team and Oliveira.
Chandler Denies Illegal Strike Allegations
Since the fight, Chandler has come out and taken issue with the allegations that the strikes thrown were illegal.
Speaking on the Ariel Helwani Show, Chandler claimed that the strikes landed on the side of the ear, as opposed to the back of the head.
He said: “I’m not going to say I didn’t do anything wrong, OK? I’m not going to say that people couldn’t look at it and splice it and look at it under a fine-tooth comb and a magnifying glass.
“But the unified rules of mixed martial arts say that there is a line drawn from the crown of the head down to the neck. One-inch variance on either side.”
“So you’re talking about a two-inch area on the back of someone’s head that is considered the back of the head. If you watch 90 percent of the shots, at least, most of them, almost all of them, my fist was catching the ear.
“If you’re catching the ear, that’s not the back of the head. Actually, what you and I would call the back of the head is not the actual definition of what it is. That two-inch strip down the back of the head.”
Chandler solidified his reasoning by pointing out that the referee, Keith Peterson, did not warn him about the strikes.
“A referee who was within two feet away never said one thing about it
“Then you’ve got commentators who were 35-feet away saying it’s the back of the head. You’ve got other people saying it was back of the head.”
Any gripes taken with Chandler’s shot selection, are ultimately irrelevant.
Regardless of how they are viewed, they did not detract from a stellar performance by Oliveira. Which is what allowed him to walk away with the win.
Featured image credits to Embed From Getty Images
