‘Referee never said one thing’… Michael Chandler hits back at claims he cheated in UFC 309 fight with Charles Oliveira

Michael Chandler has insisted he did not break any rules during his controversial defeat to Charles Oliveira earlier this month.

The lightweight stars reunited at Madison Square Garden in the co-main event of UFC 309, with Oliveira coming out on top after a five-round battle. There was no problem with the call, but Chandler's late attack saw him throw a number of elbows that were deemed illegal.

At one point, the former Bellator champion managed to drop Oliveira near the end of the fight, and it was widely believed that the shots he threw afterwards were disallowed. However, he believes referee Keith Peterson was right not to call it and defended his actions.

Charles Oliveira claimed Michael Chandler threw illegal elbows at UFC 309

In the immediate aftermath of their five-round rematch, Charles Oliveira and Michael Chandler appeared to have respect for each other. They earned Fight of the Night bonuses that added $50,000 to their fight wallets, and were positive in their post-fight comments.

Oliveira did have one criticism, however, stating that Chandler had used some illegal tactics to gain an advantage. Apart from the shots in the back of the head, he also believed that the American had broken other rules.

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

“You know, I'm not here to criticize,” Oliveira told the media on fight night after his win. “But I want to tell you something: there were a lot of blows to the back of the head, a lot of grabbing at the fence and there were also some eye pokes.

“And I told him [the referee] what was going on. I kept asking for his attention and nothing happened. I was hoping he would intervene, but nothing happened, so I'm not here to criticize.”

UFC fighters believe Michael Chandler cheated in the fight against Charles Oliveira

The incident wasn't the first time Chandler was accused of being a dirty fighter, with Dustin Poirier infamously stating that he used illegal tactics during their 2022 meeting. And a number of UFC stars watching that night took notice of his brazen efforts and took to social media with their opinions.

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

Featherweight contender Sodiq Yusuff wrote in a sarcastic post, “If Chandler ain't cheating, he ain't trying,” before adding a few minutes later, “Wow, what a crazy turn of events. 56 shots to the back of the head but hey.”

Billy Quarantillo, who also competes at 145 pounds, then joked that “Chandler lost four rounds, so Keith let him take all the shots to the back of his head.” Jessica Penne then asked her followers: “Are we not doing blows to the back of the head anymore?”

Michael Chandler defends himself against cheating charges

However, Michael Chandler has staunchly defended himself against accusations of cheating. During an appearance tonight on The Ariel Helwani Show, he vowed to follow the rules, noting that Peterson's failure to intervene was a sign that he was legally throwing an elbow.

“Watching it on TV didn't really appeal to me,” he said. “The commentary, when it comes to some of the things they said; the misinterpretation of what the back of the head is by the uniform rules of Mixed Martial Arts.

“Due to the misinterpretation of what cage grabbing is, and a few different things, it's all water under the bridge at this point. But above all, I am an honest guy, I try to live quite honestly and honestly and I don't find the story that has been painted very interesting.

'I'm not very happy about it, but that's all part of it… I'm not going to say I didn't do anything wrong, okay? I'm not going to say that people can't look at it, break it down and look at it under a fine-toothed comb and a magnifying glass.

“But the Uniform Rules of Mixed Martial Arts say that a line is drawn from the crown of the head to the back of the head, with an offset of one inch on each 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 look at at least 90 percent of the shots, most of them, almost all of them, my fist hit the ear. If you take the ear, that is 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.

“A referee who was within half a meter away never said anything about it. Then you have commentators who said it was the back of the head from 10 yards away, and you have other people who said it was the back of the head.

“If a referee said 'watch the back of the head' or 'that's the back of the head' I would understand.”

Related posts