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In the co-main event of UFC 309, former lightweight champion Charles Oliveira clinched a victory over Michael Chandler. The fight went the full five rounds, with the fifth round in particular standing out as one of the most entertaining of the year.
In that round, Chandler landed a powerful right hand followed by a combination and then vicious elbows on top of Oliveira. However, the arguably most entertaining moment came when ‘Iron Mike’ slammed Oliveira backward twice during the round.
Toward the end, Oliveira attempted a rear-naked choke, and as the bell rang to close the round, Oliveira kissed Chandler. The fight went to the judges' scorecards, and ‘Do Bronx’ was declared the winner.
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ESPN MMA shared pictures of the closing moments of the Oliveira vs. Chandler fight, where Oliveira kissed the American, which sparked reactions from several MMA fans. One fan speculated that Merab Dvalishvili may have inspired this moment:
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“Merab inspiring everyone.”
Check out the post below:
Another fan claimed that it was the best round ever:
“Best round I’ve ever seen”
One fan added:
“What a crazy finish! Chandler and Oliviera were never going to be boring!!”
Check out more fan reactions below:
Charles Oliveira expresses frustration with the referee for not punishing Michael Chandler for alleged illegal strikes
The fight between Charles Oliveira and Michael Chandler was filled with controversial moments, including eye pokes, fence grabbing, and elbow strikes to the back of the head in the fifth round—none of which were addressed by referee Keith Peterson.
In the post-fight press conference, ‘Do Bronx’ spoke about the incident:
“You know, I’m not here to criticize, but I want to tell you something; there were a lot of blows to the back of the head, a lot of fence-grabbing. There was also some eye-pokes, and I was telling him [the referee] what was going on. I kept calling for his attention and nothing would happen. I’d hoped that he would intervene, but nothing happened, so I’m not here to criticize.”
Check out Charles Oliveira’s comments below (2:50):
