Anthony Smith thinks Michael Chandler won’t be able to control himself against Charles Oliveira at UFC 309.
Chandler (23-8 MMA, 2-3 UFC) rematches Oliveira (34-10 MMA, 22-10 UFC) in Saturday’s UFC 309 (pay-per-view, ESPNews/Hulu/FX, ESPN+) co-main event at Madison Square Garden in New York. Chandler will look to avenge his 2021 loss to Oliveira, in which he was able to badly hurt the Brazilian in Round 1 but was knocked out just 19 seconds into Round 2. Speaking on the “Believe You Me” podcast with Michael Bisping, Smith said Chandler’s tendency to brawl and entertain is who he is as a fighter.
“Not a chance,” Smith said of Chandler fighting smarter. “I think he’ll think he’s going to do that. When he fought Dustin Poirier, I was right behind Joe Rogan, and I was like, ‘This is going to be an amazing fight. He’s going to fight smart.’ He tried. I was close enough where I could see him, I could hear his coaches, I could hear the corner work through the broadcast.
“Listening to the things with Din (Thomas), and you can see he was having this internal battle where he knows that he was just really successful with the wrestling, but this devil on the other shoulder is like, ‘Just go for broke,’ and he can’t help it. I used to think he was trying to be exciting, and he’s not. It’s just who he is in here (his heart), and he can’t help it.”
Since coming over from Bellator, Chandler’s approach has resulted in four bonuses in five UFC appearances. His all-out war with Justin Gaethje at UFC 268 earned him Fight of the Year for 2021.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 309.