After two years of waiting, Michael Chandler has given up on his fight with Conor McGregor and will instead rematch Charles Oliveira at UFC 309. However, that has not meant that he has let McGregor off the hook.
Shortly after his bout with Oliveira was confirmed, Chandler posted his reaction on social media. Being frustrated with the delay, 'Iron' held nothing back against McGregor, calling him "unreliable".
Chandler said (via ESPN MMA):
"I'm not even gonna respond to Conor's stupid little tweet... The simple fact of the matter is you're the most unreliable human being that has ever graced mixed martial arts. So what am I gonna do? I'm gonna fight Charles Oliveira."
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Check out Michael Chandler's comments below:
The 38-year-old Chandler did not fully close the door on his chapter with McGregor, leaving the door open for the two to potentially fight after his bout with Oliveira.
Chandler continued:
"If Conor can finally get his house in order [and] can finally string together a couple of sober days, a couple of days where he can actually train and feel good and he can actually finally pony up, then I will fight Conor after I dispatch of Charles Oliveira. Or, Islam Makhachev, you are next in 2025."
Charles Oliveira vs. Michael Chandler 1
Should Michael Chandler and Charles Oliveira make it to UFC 309 without any issues, the lightweight veterans will engage in a rematch of the UFC 262 main event.
UFC 262 marked the first lightweight title fight following Khabib Nurmagomedov's retirement and saw Oliveira win the belt by second-round TKO. While the result looked dominant on paper, 'Do Bronx' had to fight through fire in the first round when Chandler almost won the title with an early knockout.
Since the fight, Oliveira would go on to defend the title twice against Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje but lost it to Islam Makhachev at UFC 280. Chandler has gone 1-2 since the loss, beating Tony Ferguson by knockout but losing to both Poirier and Gaethje.
Once UFC 309 comes around, it will end a two-year-long layoff for Chandler almost to the day. 'Iron' has not fought since the loss to Poirier at UFC 281 in November 2022.