Charles Oliveira and Michael Chandler stole the spotlight at UFC 309 with their scintillating co-main event clash earlier this month. The fight was a good mix of action and high drama, with both athletes pushing each other to their limits. This was the first five-round fight either fighter has been in, in the UFC, although Chandler competed in five-round fights in his previous promotion. Still, with an opponent like ‘Do Bronx’, those five rounds might have revealed to Michael Chandler his mettle.

While ‘Do Bronx’ dominated Chandler for most of the fight, the fifth round was very entertaining, with ‘Iron’ nearly stopping the Brazilian. Not to mention the WWE-like powerbombs – except with Oliveira on Chandler’s back – in the dying seconds of the fight. Chandler claimed after the fight that it was the most painful fight of his career and even admitted to urinating blood because of the punishment Oliveira meted out to him.

But the most significant injury Michael Chandler suffered was to his left leg, which led to it swelling up alarmingly after the fight. ‘Iron’ shared a video of his ballooned-up left leg after the fight, which was so bad that he was able to put his fingers one knuckle deep in it. Shockingly, the swelling was so bad that the depression left by Chandler’s fingers was still visible even after Chandler removed his fingers!

The main reason behind this injury, however, doesn’t seem to be Oliveira’s devastating leg kicks, although they surely help make it worse. No, ‘Iron’s left leg was actually injured during a grappling exchange in the very first round, after which his leg didn’t feel the same for the entirety of the fight.

“I think something happened to the knee in that first exchange when he had the leg and I did that full 360, he did a kneebar thing, I walked back to the stool and I looked down at my left leg and it was not working right. It wasn’t stepping, it wasn’t catching, it was unstable, it was weird,” Chandler said in an interview. Of course, Chandler will take some well-deserved time off before returning to action, but there is one question on many people’s minds at the moment.

Who next for Michael Chandler?

Despite this loss, Michael Chandler’s star has risen after UFC 309. After all, there is nothing more that fans and the UFC brass appreciate than an entertaining fight and a fighter who gives it their all. Since ‘Iron’ is two for two on these counts, he can expect good things going forward.

While he still wants to fight Conor McGregor, for whom he waited almost two years, there is a lot of uncertainty around when (or if) the Irishman will be back in action. But Chandler’s second choice is much more viable. The former Bellator champ has expressed interest in fighting the legendary Max Holloway for the BMF belt.

And with Holloway coming off a tough loss to Ilia Topuria and in need of a bounce-back fight, Chandler seems like the perfect opponent. After all, the Missouri native will do nothing but strike with ‘Blessed’, which would play to the latter’s strength and be extremely entertaining to boot. But for now, Chandler is resting and recovering from the battering his body has taken. What do you think about Michael Chandler’s leg injury?