Michael Chandler, not Jon Jones, should be headlining UFC 309 — ‘I’m coming to steal the show’

Michael Chandler is one of the most exciting fighters in combat sports.

“Iron” has five fights under the UFC banner and four of them resulted in post-fight performance bonuses, including two “Fight of the Night” honors. The only bout that didn’t end with an extra $50,000 payout was his submission loss to Charles Oliveira at UFC 262.

Their rematch at UFC 309 later this month in New York will give Chandler an opportunity to fill that void — and steal the show from UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones, who headlines the pay-per-view (PPV) card against former 265-pound kingpin Stipe Miocic.

“I saw Jon Jones at UFC 306 at the Sphere,” Chandler told NY Post. “We said hi, took a picture together, you know, the main and co-main and he’s like, ‘Hey, man, make sure you save some excitement for me because I’m the main event.’ And I’m like, ‘Yeah, probably not, man. I’m coming to steal the show.’ I think I’m going to surgically and systematically break [Oliveira] down until he looks for the exit sign.”

Chandler, 37, has not competed since losing to Dustin Poirier at UFC 281 back in late 2022. That’s because “Iron” was hoping to score his own personal red-panty night against fellow “Ultimate Fighter” coach Conor McGregor, who broke his toe and slowly faded from view.

“Having that much time off, I needed it. I really needed it,” Chandler continued. “Six training camps in a 26-month period, every single fight was do or die. Top three, top-five guy, world title fights, Fights of the Night, Fights of the Year, and I love the sport. I am so blessed to do the sport of mixed martial arts as a professional and get paid for it and feed my family with it, but it was taking a toll on me. I needed some time off.”

To see who else is fighting at UFC 309 in New York click here.