Who would’ve won?
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Chandler sees UFC 309 as an opportunity to avenge a loss to Oliveira and take one step closer to his dream of becoming UFC champion.

Michael Chandler is coming into UFC 309 on November 16th prepared to fulfill his destiny and earn himself a lightweight title shot with a win over Charles Oliveira.

“Iron Mike” has been out of action for the last two years waiting for a match-up with Conor McGregor to materialize. It never did. Most fighters would say “It is what it is,” which is code for “Yeah, this sucks but what are you gonna do about it?” Not Chandler. He believes it is what it was meant to be.

“This fight against Charles Oliveira, this is the way it was supposed to be,” he told TNT Sports in a new interview. “This is how the story was supposed to be written. We didn’t know it was gonna be written this way. We had other plans, there were other things that were supposed to happen, could’ve happened, should’ve happened. But this is how it’s gonna happen.”

“The guy who shattered my dreams of becoming the number one lightweight in the world, Charles Oliveira — I get to right that wrong,” he continued. “All the pressure’s on him. There’s no pressure on me. I’m gonna go out there and get my hand raised … This is my greatest moment of opportunity. And on Saturday night, I stick my claim as the number one contender in the lightweight division.”

Chandler is still ranked at No. 7 while Oliveira is up at No. 2. Based on the questionable way rankings work, he could steal the two spot from “Do Bronx” with a win in Madison Square Garden and be in a good position to challenge for the lightweight title.

“Dana has already called it the number one contender fight, the title eliminator,” Chandler claimed before laying out how he sees 2025 going.

“I believe Islam beats Arman. I think Islam will be the champion after that fight whenever whenever it is. He’s already fought a couple of the guys in the division. He wants new blood. He wants a new challenge. I believe he would love the opportunity to compete against me. I would love the opportunity to compete against him. So there’s a clear path.”

As we learned from Dustin Poirier’s surprising UFC 302 title shot against Makhachev, sometimes you just gotta be the guy that’s ready on the date the UFC needs filling. Add in a win over Oliveira, and Chandler is definitely on the short list of people in consideration.

“I win on Saturday night, I become the highest ranked guy not named Arman or Islam,” Chandler said. “I become the No. 1 contender. I submit myself as the next in line for the title. I will leave the Octagon at MSG on Saturday night the next guy in line for the title. And there’s nothing that can stop that.”

“Who’s gonna complain? I’m gonna be dominant on Saturday night and finally it will come to fruition. I’m gonna win the win the UFC title. And it’s the way it was supposed to be.”

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Jim Lampley believes Mike Tyson is playing a dangerous game this weekend.

On Friday, Tyson faces Jake Paul in an eight-round boxing match in what is likely to be the biggest combat sports event of the year. Though Tyson is a former heavyweight champion, he’s also pushing 58 years of age and facing a man 30 years his junior, which has led to some concern among fans about the wisdom of going forward with the matchup. And longtime boxing commentator Jim Lampley seems to be among those who believe Tyson is taking a big risk.

“I hope that Mike makes a ton of money,” Lampley told Fight Hub TV. “He’s a dear and old friend. My television boxing career began calling his first several exposures on ABC sports back in the 80s. I’ve known him a long time, love him, I want his life to be what he wants it to be and so I hope that Mike does well in the business of the fight and doesn’t get hurt.

“Obviously when a man is 57, almost 58 years old going into the ring, I don’t care who the opponent is. The opponent could be a figure skater, he’s still taking a chance. And so I think Mike is taking a chance with this because Jake Paul will train, Jake Paul will lift weights, Jake Paul will get himself into shape to do the best that he can possibly do and try to land one big shot and separate Mike from his senses long enough to get a win.

“So I think the essence of the drama is ‘is Jake Paul going to knock Mike out or is Mike going to go through the necessary motions and show enough energy and commitment over the course of however many rounds it takes to gradually beat down Jake Paul and get a win. And I hope Mike comes out of it healthy and wealthier.”

Though Tyson had an exhibition bout against Roy Jones Jr. in 2020, this will be his first professional fight in almost 20 years. That a long time on the shelf and given his advanced age, Lampley says that come Friday he will not be watching along.

“The age difference is big enough that the event is dangerous,” Lampley said. “And I kind of wish Mike found some other way to do business rather than to fight somebody who’s Jake’s age and has a chance to get into the kind of shape that Jake might get into. But he’s still a far, far piece removed from understanding boxing and having the kind of refined skills that Mike had at his peak.

“Again, the question is, how much of Mike do you get to see when he’s 57 years old? I love him, I’m rooting for him, I’m not going to make the buy. It’s not an event that I want to see. It’s too much of a distortion. It’s not competition, it’s a freak show.”

Despite many boxing luminaries sharing Lampley’s trepidation about this matchup, Tyson insists there’s nothing to worry about, saying he’s in a much better place than he was 20 years ago. And while Lampley may not share that belief with Tyson, he does ultimately think that come Friday, Tyson will end up OK.

“The vast majority of those people, who pay attention to Mike because of his celebrity and his illustrious image don’t know anything about boxing,” Lampley said. “They don’t really understand the risk that he’s taking by going into the ring. We’re not faking it here. People are going to hit each other. And again … he’s 57, 58 years old.

“I think he’ll be fine. I think he probably still has enough craft that he can protect himself int he right way against somebody who, no matter how long he trains, is still at that level of novice. So I think that Mike is going to be OK. But my biggest hope about the entire event is that nothing bad happens to my friend.”

TOP STORIES

Tyson. Mike Tyson sends a message to fans concerned about his fight with Jake Paul.

Gloves. UFC 309 will feature a return to the old fight gloves.

Heavyweight. Jon Anik reacts to Jon Jones vs. Alex Pereira talk and the heavyweight title picture.

Duck. Matt Brown criticizes Jon Jones for poor handling of Tom Aspinall situation.

London Calling. The UFC announced a return to London in March.

Free Agency. Marcus Buchecha discusses his impending MMA free agency.

Roundtable. Discussing the various angles ahead of UFC 309 this Saturday.

VIDEO STEW

Between the Links.

Jake Paul as a rooster.

Michael Chandler interview.

Jon Anik previews Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic.

Embedded.

Tyson on TMZ Sports.

FLAVOR IN YOUR EAR

SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE

Guys want in.

Alexa Grasso broke a leg. And not in the good way.

Durinho.

FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS

Edson Barboza (24-12) vs. Steve Garcia (17-5); UFC, Feb 22.

FINAL THOUGHTS

I sincerely hope Jim Lampley is correct.

Just a few more days and we’ll know one way or the other.

EXIT POLL

If you find something you’d like to see in the Morning Report, hit up @AlexanderKlee or @JedKMeshew on Twitter and let us know about it. Also, follow MMAFighting on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and like us on Facebook.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Think you can figure out which UFC fighter we’re talking about? You’ll get five clues to figure him out.

We’re back for another day of the SB Nation UFC in-5 daily trivia game, and we’re switching to a system of a new article each day for the game.

We tried using a single article for the game, updated with the latest game each day, but it was creating a bit of an unwieldy experience in the comments. So, we’ll have the current day’s game plus the previous three days in each new article. That way, you can catch up if you miss a day.

Game instructions are at the bottom if you’re new to the game!

What we need from you

1. Play the game
2. Share your result in the comments and on social media
3. Provide feedback (Google Form or in comments below)

Today’s UFC in-5 game

Tuesday’s UFC in-5 game

Monday’s UFC in-5 game

Sunday’s UFC in-5 game

The goal of the game is to guess the correct random UFC fighter player with the help of up to five clues. We’ll mix in BOTH ACTIVE AND RETIRED FIGHTERS. It won’t be easy to figure it out in one or two guesses, but some of you might be able to nail it. It will be a mix of well-known players and some “that guys” that we haven’t thought of in some time. The game will appear in slot #3 of the MMA Fighting layout each morning, with occasional movement later in the day.

After you correctly guess the player, you can click “Share Results” to share how you did down in the comments and on social media.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

NEW YORK CITY — UFC lightweight contender and former Bellator champion Michael Chandler discusses his rematch with Charles Oliveira at UFC 309, their first fight at UFC 262, how he’ll approach this matchup differently, his place in the lightweight title picture, and his new tequila line with MMA Fighting’s Jose Youngs.

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Do you agree?
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Bringing you the weird and wild from the world of MMA each and every weeknight!

Welcome to Midnight Mania!

UFC Heavyweight champion Jon Jones is the talk of the town this week, but it’s really not because he’s returning after the better part of two years to defend his title against Stipe Miocic. There’s almost no discussion around that fight despite its status as the main event of UFC 309, which takes place in the famed Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York.

Instead, the conversation continues to revolve around Jones and interim kingpin Tom Aspinall. Aspinall’s rise to stardom and championship gold has come at a perfect time to pose an intriguing challenge to the all-time great “Bones,” but Jones has consistently remarked that he isn’t interested. According to Jones, Aspinall is too new and doesn’t do anything for his resume.

Former Featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski, who not that long ago was the top-ranked pound-for-pound fighter on the roster, disagrees. “The Great” knows a thing or two about chasing double champion status, and he believes that Jones simply has to face Aspinall if he’s to be a “proper double champion.”

“If you want to be a Heavyweight champion, you want to claim that crown,” Volkanovski said of Jones on his YouTube channel. “It’s going to be hard to convince me you’re defending champ if you don’t fight Tom Aspinall while he’s the interim champ. Does Jon Jones even need to do this? No. He’s already got an incredible legacy. But if you want to claim the Heavyweight division, say you were a proper double champ — you gotta fight Tom Aspinall!”

“ … If you want that on your resume saying that I’m the best Heavyweight while i was there, you have to fight Tom Aspinall. I think he’s definitely the biggest threat, the wrestling, he can dangerous everywhere, and he’s a legit Heavyweight.”

Volkanovski also explained that he understands why Jones would want to fight a major star in Alex Pereira but thinks dropping the Heavyweight belt would be necessary to do so. All told, it’s going to be very interesting to see whether or not Jon Jones’ career continues beyond Saturday night and what lies in his future.

Insomnia

Bringing back the old gloves for a Jones event is the most unintentionally hilarious thing UFC has ever done.

Just a few guys being dudes.

Wild times on the Russian regional scene! Anecdote of the week: I did once watch a fighter get arrested immediately after his fight at Gladiator Challenge in Northern California. He won via KO in 22 seconds!

No easy fights for Edson Barboza — Steve Garcia has been on a tear!

Dana White casually winning more money than most of his champions will make this year:

A tricky technique from the great Craig Jones!

Fighting Rodtang for $ 8k is ROUGH!

Slips, rips, and KO clips

Absolutely frantic hand-fighting and a great turn at the end.

Khabib cousins grow on trees, have cool names, and win fights like nobody’s business.

Former One Championship Flyweight king Adriano Moraes is back in the win column.

Random Land

What would you do in this situation?

Midnight Music: Soul, 2020

Sleep well Maniacs! More martial arts madness is always on the way.

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