Charles Oliveira survives, beats Michael Chandler

Charles Oliveira largely dominated Michael Chandler on Saturday in the UFC 309 co-main event, but it wasn’t without a scare.

After four rounds of domination by Oliveira (35-10 MMA, 23-10 UFC) in the grappling department, he had to dig deep to survive a late onslaught from Chandler (23-9 MMA, 2-4 UFC). He ultimately won by unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 49-45).

In each of the first three rounds, Oliveira took down Chandler. And once there, it was his world. However, Chandler’s defense was good enough to fend off constant rear-naked choke attempts. In Round 2, Oliveira also landed some solid strikes on Chandler, who appeared to struggle with his footing, tripping over the cage at some points.

But much of the most memorable action took place in a wild Round 5. After a push kick by Oliveira seemed to wobble Chandler’s lead leg, the former Bellator champion got him back. Chandler landed a big punch that wobbled Oliveira and sent him on the retreat.

Oliveira tried to grab hold but Chandler dumped him to the canvas. Chandler then unloaded more than 12 punches, many of which appeared to be to the back of the head, though not in the eyes of referee Keith Peterson.

Chandler sat in Oliveira’s guard for a bit before eventually getting back to his feet. Once there, Chandler waved on Oliveira, only to be dragged to the canvas again.

In the final minutes, Oliveira grabbed Chandler’s back. Chandler then stood up not once, but twice, with Oliveira on his back. Each time, Chandler slammed Oliveira with a backdrop, but the Brazilian hung on tight as the final bell sounded.

With the win, Oliveira moves to 2-0 against Chandler. The two fought for the vacant lightweight title in May 2021 when Oliveira knocked out Chandler in the opening seconds of Round 2.

Oliveira bounces back from a split decision loss to Arman Tsarukyan in April. He moves to 2-1 in his most recent three.

As for Chandler, Saturday’s fight marked his first action since November 2022. He sat on the sidelines waiting for a Conor McGregor fight that has not yet materialized, but eventually decided to pivot. With the loss, Chandler moves to 1-4 in his most recent five.

Up-to-the-minute UFC 309 results include:

• Charles Oliveira def. Michael Chandler via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 49-45)
• Bo Nickal def. Paul Craig via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Viviane Araujo def. Karine Silva via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Mauricio Ruffy def. James Llontop via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Marcus McGhee def. Jonathan Martinez via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Jim Miller def. Damon Jackson via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 1, 2:44
• David Onama def. Roberto Romero via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Marcin Tybura def. Jhonata Diniz via TKO (doctor’s stoppage) – Round 2, 5:00
• Ramiz Brahimaj def. Mickey Gall via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 2:55
• Oban Elliott def. Bassil Hafez via knockout (punches) – Round 3, 0:40
• Eduarda Moura def. Veronica Hardy via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 309.