The fighting world was taken by surprise last Friday (13) with the announcement of the fight between Charles of the Bronx x Michael chandler No. UFC 309. Since the Brazilian was speculated to fight for the interim belt against Arman Tsarukyan, since the champion Islam makhachev recovering from injury. On the other hand, Chandler had been waiting for almost two years for his fight against Conor McGregor. Despite the surprise of many, Gilbert Durinho analyzed the possibilities regarding the reason for the officialization of the unlikely dispute.
On his YouTube channel, the former challenger for the welterweight title (up to 77,1 kg), who has behind-the-scenes information about the organization, said that there was little interest in watching the fight between Jon Jones x Stipe Miocic, main attraction of UFC 309, is one of the factors that contributed to the scheduling of Charles vs. Chandler as the co-main event.
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“The first reason to close this fight charles do brox against Michael chandler, for five rounds, is Jon Jones against Stipe Miocic. It's a fight that the Tom aspinall is screaming, he is begging for a fight against Jon Jones or against Stipe… The fight is not happening because I think the UFC promised this fight to both Jon Jones so much for Stipe. But it's a fight that isn't, in my opinion, giving me that feeling of 'wow, I want to watch this fight!' it's not giving me that, so they need a co-main event that sells, that attracts people, that’s where the question of why they closed this fight comes in”, said Durinho.
Reward to Chandler for waiting on McGregor
Durinho also analyzed that marriage in front of Charles of the Bronx, second place in the lightweight rankings (up to 70,3 kg) would be a kind of reward for Michael Chander who has not fought for almost two years waiting for the return of Conor McGregor.
“I think Chandler has been waiting a long time for Connor McGregor. He’s a guy who’s already 38 years old, a guy who was once the Bellator world champion, who entered the UFC to fight. You can see that when he talks, he doesn’t even talk about the belt, he talks about fighting, about making history, so he’s a guy who has always delivered,” he said.
“People can say that he has two wins and three losses in the UFC, he is coming off a loss to Dustin (Poirier), but all of his fights were fight of the night, he knocked out Tony Ferguson who was already on a low but the way he knocked him out was sinister, the fight against Justin gaethje, the fight against Dan Hooker, the fight against Dustin poirier, the fight against Charles, which he was winning well in that first round until he was knocked out,” he said.
“Chandler is a guy who delivers a lot, so what I think the UFC wanted to do, I think the UFC wanted to put him against Connor, not as a favor to Michael chandler, but because he's a guy who goes in really crazy, and it's a pretty even fight. If Connor entered half as well as he is, he could win, and if Connor enters more or less, we'll make a new star out of Chandler. But then the fight goes on, gets delayed, gets canceled, everyone is watching the soap opera that's going on for Connor McGregor to come back. So, what happens? I think that when the fight was canceled, Chandler saw that everyone was making fun of him for it, he hadn't fought for two years, coming out of his prime, and then comes the thing that I haven't seen anyone talking about yet", he concluded.
Charles of the Bronx is one of the Brazilian stars in the UFC. Photo: Reproduction/Instagram
Charles do Bronx with morale in the UFC
On the other hand, for Durinho, the UFC aims to raise Charles' name for a new title fight. For the Brazilian, Do Bronx is a more popular and marketable fighter than Tsarukyan, who is scheduled to fight for the belt.
“I’m sure the UFC wanted Charles to win against Tsarukyan, because Charles is a star, a rematch between him and Islam would sell much more than Tsarukyan. So I don’t think this fight was a consolation prize for Chandler for waiting for Connor, I think it’s the opposite, I I think they want to make the return of charles do brox.
Many people may prefer the Dan Hooker, but I don't think it would have that appeal, maybe it's a fight? Maybe it is, but I don't think it would have the appeal. And the opposite is also true, if the Dan Hooker wins, there is no appeal to fight against Islam, because when they fought he was taken away for nothing and Islam finished quickly.
Now, if Charles wins, and wins well Michael chandler, he shoots Chandler in the foot, if the fight between Islam and Tsarukyan has not yet been scheduled, he can even ask for the fight against Connor, ask for the fight he wanted. So I don't think they are giving Chandler a consolation prize, I think they are seeing that Charles needs a big win, he is a guy who makes so much noise that either he fights for the belt, or against McGregor. And of course it has both sides, if Chandler wins he will be in a great position”, he said.
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