Michael Chandler hasn’t fought in two years, but he’s just days away from making his long-awaited return to the Octagon. After going 1-3 in his last four fights and missing out on a high-profile bout with Conor McGregor, Chandler will step back into the cage this Saturday at the UFC 309 pay-per-view event at Madison Square Garden.
Unfortunately, Chandler faces more than just the top champion this weekend; he’ll also need to break his losing streak at the world’s most famous arena. Chandler has fought—and lost—twice at Madison Square Garden. The first loss came at UFC 268 in November 2021, where he earned Fight of the Night honors despite a decision loss to Justin Gaethje. In his most recent bout there, he was submitted by Dustin Poirier at UFC 281 in November 2022.
Before joining the UFC, Chandler also lost at Madison Square Garden to Brent Primus during his Bellator career. In a recent interview with Ariel Helwani, Chandler reflected on his winless record at the storied venue.
“I’m 0-3 at MSG,” Chandler said. “I actually just ran into a guy who’s been to all three of my fights there, and he was like, ‘Hey dude, we gotta break the MSG curse.’ But I also look at this as another layer where I’m like, of course, this is how it’s supposed to be: I’m fighting the guy who already beat me, who shattered my dreams, at the arena that’s done the same every single time. I’ve never won there, and now it’s time to right that wrong.”
When asked if he had any regrets about fighting at MSG, Chandler replied, “No, not even a little bit. I asked for this card. We wanted to fight in October, but I needed to do a serious, legit weight cut. I’d been preparing my mind and body for 170 lbs for the last year and a half, and I only had 10 weeks to get down to 155 for October. It wasn’t going to happen; it was too soon, so I wanted MSG, and we got it.”
