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Charles Oliveira and Michael Chandler brought back their sensational fight for the second time at UFC 309, conducted at New York City’s Madison Square Garden. Before they met in the co-main event, although it was no less an exciting fight, the fight went the distance. The pair previously faced off at UFC 262 in May 2021, where Oliveira secured a second-round TKO victory in a thrilling exchange. This time, Oliveira proved himself highly skilled, physically fit, and wise enough to defeat his opponent for the win by unanimous decision and establish himself as the king of the lightweight division.
A Strong Start By Charles Oliveira
The fight started as Charles Oliveira looked to stay dominant at the center of the octagon. Both fighters were feeling each other out in the opening round, with Olivera scoring first with a front kick and a counter right hand to Chandler. Chandler barely escaped Oliveira’s grip but was taken down by Oliveira, who targeted Chandler’s leg on the ground. Michael Chandler kept busy from the bottom throwing short punches, but it was clear that Oliveira was able to control the fight. The fight concluded in the first round, and the judge’s scorecards had Oliveira in a better position.
Charles Oliveira was more proactive in the second stanza, having a hard leg kick and clean punches, which forced Chandler into a shell. Chandler’s counters were answered by constant pressure from Charles Oliveira, who landed a knee and a takedown before the midway point of the round. On the ground, Oliveira took the back and mounted Chandler to then land some clean elbows reinforcing his dominance. The second round devastated further, with Oliveira using great striking and controlling the fight on the ground.
Chandler Shows Heart As Charles Oliveira Maintains Control
The third round was the evidence of the champion’s heart that was shown when he landed stiff jabs and powerful punches. He countered it with an uppercut and clinched to stem Chandler’s attack. The next takedown was from Oliveira, grabbing the back of Chandler and locking his body. Chandler performed well on the ground, but Oliveira showed his evolution on the ground as well as the new legalization of 10-6 elbows.
Oliveira had his back against the wall in the fourth round, Chandler came back powerfully, hitting Oliveira to feel his punches, but Charles Oliveira was able to clinch onto Chandler and get back into position. Chandler was back to the ground after the takedown from Oliveira, and the Brazilian got back to his feet only to take him down once again. Against Chandler’s furious scrambles, Oliveira kept the fight on the ground, tried for submissions, and went for some armbar strikes, but Chandler again displayed brilliant takedown defense.
Oliveira Holds On For the Decision
In the final round, Chandler banged, which hurt Charles Oliveira and put him on the ropes. Oliveira never surrendered that control to grappling and scored takedowns to take Chandler back to the mat and regain control. Chandler was aggressive all through the fight, but it was the ground and pound by Charles Oliveira and the constant pressure that saw him win through the unanimous decision with scores of 49-46, 49-46, and 49-45. This victory also solidifies the position of his career in the lightweight division as an elite fighter who can adapt himself to high-pressure games.
Conclusion
A moment, a memory, showed that Oliveira is a genuinely tough contender who possesses a kind of skill set and never backs down. While the spot-on effort from Chandler was evident as much as the flashes of sheer excellence from him, it was the ground control and positioning, the clinch tying, and the submission savvy of the Brazilian that decided the contest in his favor. Thus, this performance strengthens Charles Oliveira’s position as one of the main contenders in the lightweight division and makes him ready for further great fights.
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Maple Leafs make six roster cuts with two notable surprises
The Toronto Maple Leafs have already begun their training camp prior to the start of the 2025-26 NHL season. Although no further trade moves have been announced, the Leafs have made changes to their roster and have officially sent back six prospects to their junior teams. Specifically, the players leaving camp are as follows. Two surprising moves by the Maple Leafs Perhaps the most surprising cases are those of Tyler Hopkins and Matthew Hlacar. Hopkins, 18, even received the opportunity to be promoted to Group 2 at camp recently, where he shared the ice with top prospects like Easton Cowan, plus John Tavares and William Nylander. On the other hand, Hlacar, 19, was also one of the forwards who performed best during the rookie camp, following a season of seven goals and one assist for eight points in 43 games in the OHL with the Kitchener Rangers. That said, although it is surprising due to their performances, it also makes sense considering that the OHL season began this weekend. If they were not going to be considered sufficiently by Craig Berube, the best thing for these players is to get into rhythm with their junior teams and continue preparing to make the jump to the highest level in the coming years. The two prospects were drafted just this year. Hopkins was selected 86th overall by Toronto, while Hlacar was drafted by the Leafs in the seventh round. Both hope to break into the main roster sooner rather than later.
Steelers' Once Promising Third-Year Defender Could Be Relegated On The Depth Chart
The Pittsburgh Steelers have begun the 2025 NFL season with a 2-1 record, however there are some things that need to be figured out. The defense is shaky at best despite forcing five turnovers in Sunday's win over the New England Patriots in Week 3. The group still struggles to get off of the field on possession downs, and stopping the run has been an issue throughout the first three weeks of the season. A lot of that starts with the front seven and the interior defensive line. Pittsburgh has been banged up in that area, but some healthy contributors returning could shake up the lineup. Pittsburgh was able to see the regular season debut of Derrick Harmon on Sunday. The organization selected Harmon in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft, but he suffered a sprained MCL in the preseason finale which kept him on the sidelines throughout the first two weeks of the regular season. He made an impact while serving in a limited role on Sunday against New England as he recorded a sack and two total tackles, and he is expected to help the run defense in the near future. Team insider Mark Kaboly spoke about the interior defensive line after the game on Sunday on the most recent episode of Kaboly + Mack, and he believes there will be two rookies starting in that area very soon. "They made some moves there, and it was able to help them out," Kaboly said. "That's a definite difference in what they were able to do. And I think it's just a matter of time until Yahya Black, Derrick Harmon and Cam Heyward's your one, two and three across the front. It's just a matter of time." Currently, Cam Heyward and Yahya Black are the starting defensive tackles for Pittsburgh while Keeanu Benton has been the starting nose tackle. That is the part of the lineup that will be shuffled, as Benton will likely switch to being a rotational piece, while Harmon enters the starting lineup. He will likely takeover the duties at defensive tackle, while Black shuffles to nose tackle. Benton was expected to take a leap forward going into his second season in 2024, but that didn't necessarily happen. He has made some big plays for Pittsburgh, but he has not been the consistent force that the organization had hoped he would be to this point. There was hope he would improve once again during the 2025 season, but if anything, the third-year pro has shown some regression since his rookie season. Moving to a rotational role where he can fill in at both defensive tackle and nose tackle might be best for Benton at this point. He doesn't necessarily have the size to be a true nose tackle in the NFL, so the coaching staff in Pittsburgh has seemingly been setting him up for failure a little bit in that regard. He would likely play better at defensive tackle, which is something the coaching staff could find out if the starting defensive line gets shuffled. Steelers Need To See Keeanu Benton Step Up No matter what role he is serving, Benton needs to play better moving forward. The interior defensive line is a key part of stopping the run, and Pittsburgh has struggled to do that. It is going to be hard to win meaningful games if that problem persists, especially against the better teams in the NFL that show up on the schedule later in the year. Benton needs to show some signs of progression, whether that be as a starter, or as someone who rotates in with the starting lineup throughout a game. Benton can still have a future in Pittsburgh, but he is going to need to improve in 2025 while setting himself up for success in 2026.
Brewers announce pitcher who will take Brandon Woodruff’s turn through the rotation
Over the weekend, the Milwaukee Brewers announced devastating news that Brandon Woodruff was being placed on the injured list with a lat strain. He first felt the discomfort during a bullpen over the weekend, the strain has been labeled moderate, and there is not much optimism that he will be ready for the playoffs. With just a week remaining in the regular season and the NLDS set to begin on October 4, the long-term focus for Woodruff is clearly his postseason availability. In the short term, however, the Brewers had a more immediate challenge: finding someone to step into his spot in the rotation. Milwaukee Brewers announce which pitcher will take Brandon Woodruff’s turn through the rotation On Saturday, the Brewers designated Joel Payamps for assignment and selected the contract of Bruce Zimmermann. The 30 year hasn’t made a big league appearance since 2023, but in a twist of fate he is now slated to start Tuesday against the San Diego Padres, which originally was Woodruff’s day to pitch; As Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reported, Zimmermann was told straight up that he was coming up for one day with the Brewers. However, with Woodruff being diagnosed with a lat strain that same day, plans changed, and he now will start at least one game for Milwaukee. Notably, with Zimmermann scheduled to pitch on Tuesday, he lines up to start the Brewers’ final regular season game against the Reds. Even if he doesn’t get the start, he’ll be available to pitch, giving Milwaukee the option to use him for bulk innings without risking another last-minute injury to one of their key arms heading into the playoffs. Zimmermann brings some experience to the table, with 27 career big-league starts under his belt. As a starter, he had a 4.11 ERA in Triple-A this season. While his role may seem minor in the shadow of the Woodruff injury, his performance could still play a meaningful part in helping the Brewers secure the best record in baseball, which would guarantee them home field advantage throughout the playoffs. He also could have a hand in whether or not Cincinnati makes the post season or not.
Packers’ Solution for Chronic Penalties Begins Wednesday
The Green Bay Packers were guilty of 14 penalties during Sunday’s loss to the Cleveland Browns, the most during coach Matt LaFleur’s tenure. The penalties bothered LaFleur, whose teams typically have played with excellent discipline, but they didn’t surprise him. “Yeah, I’ve seen it,” LaFleur said on Monday, a day after a shocking 13-10 defeat. “It’s been happening more than we’d like. You see it in practice, it’s hard not to expect it in a game. We have got to dial in better. We have to have better focus and concentration.” Dialing in isn’t only about Sundays. With another road game coming up on Sunday night at Dallas, the focus has to start when the team walks onto the practice field on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Sunday’s game was the 103rd of LaFleur’s career. His team had been flagged more than 10 times in just three games, with the previous worst being 12 penalties against the Lions in 2020. Guilty of only two false-start infractions in the first two games, the Packers were flagged five times against the Browns. “Some of those are brutal,” LaFleur said. “We had two on third down. One was on that third-and-4 [by Jordan Morgan in the red zone]. We had one [by Morgan] on the short-yardage situation when we tried to bring Tuck(er Kraft) in there and run the quarterback sneak. Third-and-1, you can’t have that. “The other one [by Rasheed Walker] was a third-and-10 late in the game when we’re trying to set up for a field goal; that pushed us back 5 yards. Yeah, you can’t have them. Those are killer penalties. Another one was on second-and-1 [by Walker], now it’s second-and-6. You can’t have them because they are killer.” There were so many false starts that LaFleur couldn’t remember them all. No. 5 was by receiver Malik Heath, which helped knock a promising possession out of field-goal range in the secon quarter. “And then conversely on the defensive side,” LaFleur continued, “we had a bunch of penalties on third down that extended drives. I remember one specifically, third-and-9, [defensive holding by Javon Bullard] and we had another third-and-goal [pass interference by Keisean Nixon]. “They didn’t kill us in those situations – we ended up overcoming them and moving them back, and they ended up settling for a field goal – but we have got to be better just with our details, our fundamentals and then utilizing the techniques that we practice on a daily basis.” Pending the Monday night game between the Lions and Ravens, the Packers were guilty of 28 penalties, tied for the fourth-most in the league. The yardage was more manageable with 192 yards, which ranked 12th. Only the Saints (eight) have been guilty of more false starts. “I feel like we were hurting ourselves more than anything with some of the penalties and the little things,” quarterback Jordan Love said after the game. “I felt like we were putting some good drives together but, at the end of the day, I feel like we just hurt ourselves a little too much.” It’s early in the season, but no team has been penalized more than Green Bay was against Cleveland. That came on the heels of 10 accepted penalties against Washington in Week 2. The 14 penalties vs. Cleveland were the most for the Packers since they were guilty of a franchise-record 18 in a loss at Chicago in 2020. In the Super Bowl era, there’s only been one other occasion in which Green Bay was flagged more than 14 times, according to Stathead. From 2019 through 2024 – the first six seasons of the LaFleur era – the Packers were guilty of the sixth-fewest penalties, according to Stathead. Including offsetting and declined penalties, Green Bay was flagged 17 times on Sunday. Incredibly, 10 came in the fourth quarter, capped by Nixon jumping offside on the game-ending field goal. “It’s discipline. It’s every facet of this game,” said defensive end Micah Parsons, who was flagged twice for offside. “Every detail – kickoff, field goal, defense, being in our right position, our right leverage. It’s everything. “Discipline will beat talent every day of the week. We were more talented. Like I said, we played better the first three quarters. We got to play better in the fourth quarter, including me. It goes for everyone.”
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