Michael Chandler has blamed a first round leg injury for his disappointing performance against Charles Oliveira at UFC 309, in a fight that was decided by the judges.
Chandler Slowed By Leg Injury
Michael Chandler and Charles Oliveira’s fight went all five rounds last weekend, but Chandler has revealed after his loss that he sustained a leg injury early in the contest that had him struggling for the next four rounds.
Oliveira dominated the bout and won via unanimous decision but Chandler believes that the result may have been different if he didn’t pick up a knee injury.
“I think something happened to the knee in that first exchange when he had the leg and I did that full 360, he did a kneebar thing, because I walked back to the stool and I looked down at my left leg and it was not working right,” Chandler said.
Michael Chandler reveals he’s been experiencing the worst pain of his life following the Charles Oliveira fight:
“Body, the most pain I’ve ever been in my entire life. Pee’d blood, inflammation all over, my whole body’ swollen.”
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) November 20, 2024
“It wasn’t stepping, it wasn’t catching, it was unstable, it was weird. … You know what it feels like to be on a solid foundation, to walk forward, move forward, attack, and I just wasn’t.
“We’ll see what happened, but essentially for 23 minutes of that fight I don’t know if the leg was really working that well.”
Chandler can’t complain too much though, as Oliveira won easily and he also came out after UFC 309 to reveal his own injury struggles from before the fight.
The Brazilian admitted that he didn’t want to use his pain as an excuse, but he was fighting with a knee injury and ruptured ligaments and still managed to dominate Chandler.
Charles Oliveira says he went into the Michael Chandler fight with a knee injury and ruptured ligaments. So, is this what all the talk was about when there were rumors someone was going to pull out? 🤕
(via @UFCFightPassBR, @Bert_MMA) pic.twitter.com/HHi9yzCn74
— Full Violence ™ (@Full_Violence) November 17, 2024
Chandler has now won just two fights since joining the UFC, with four losses in the Octagon since leaving Bellator.
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