The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returned with their latest pay-per-view offering UFC 262 on Sunday (May 16).
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The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returned with their latest pay-per-view offering UFC 262 on Sunday (May 16). The event in Las Vegas, Nevada featured fans in attendance for what was expected to be a solid night of fighting. The main event was the lightweight championship bout between Michael Chandler and Charles Oliveira. The co main-event slot belonged to Beneil Dariush and Tony Ferguson. The hook for the main event was the fact that UFC would have a new lightweight champion after Khabib Nurmagomedov’s retirement. As we know, the man to lead the lightweight division into a new era is Oliveira.
Oliveira didn’t do much talking prior to the main event bout. However, Chandler was confident coming into the match. And why wouldn’t he be?
The Bellator veteran made a stunning UFC debut when he knocked out Dan Hooker in the first round at UFC 257. His impressive win, therefore, put him right in the mix of the title picture.
He could have faced Daniel Poirier for the title had he not opted for the trilogy bout with Conor McGregor. Instead, it was Oliveira who got the nod.
Chandler predicted a first-round knockout win for himself. However, it was Oliveira who landed the KO blow 19 seconds into the second round.
That he survived a brutal onslaught in Round 1 to even make it this far made the win even sweeter. It’s taken Oliveira long to ascend the throne – 11 years with UFC and 28 fights, to be exact.
However, no one can doubt him calling himself “the lion of lions” – which he did in his post-match interview.
So what does the future hold for these men? Oliveira will next face the winner of the Poirier-McGregor bout. The trilogy fight will main event the UFC 264 card.
The early favourite in that bout is Poirier, who humbled McGregor in their last fight earlier this year. However, it is unwise to count out McGregor.
As for Chandler, he might have to get in the back of the proverbial line. This wasn’t a bad outing by any means, but a loss is a loss and it may be a little while before he is back in the title hunt.
Main card:
Charles Oliveira def. Michael Chandler via second-round TKO
Beneil Dariush def. Tony Ferguson via UD
Rogerio Bontorin def. Matt Schnell via unanimous decision
Katlyn Chookagian def. Viviane Araujo via UD
Edson Barboza def. Shane Burgos via third-round TKO
Preliminary card:
Andre Muniz def. Ronaldo Souza via sub (armbar)
Lando Vannata def. Mike Grundy via split decision
Jordan Wright def. Jamie Pickett via first-round TKO
Andrea Lee def. Antonina Shevchenko via sub (triangle armbar)
Priscila Cachoeira def. Gina Mazany via second-round TKO
Tucker Lutz vs. Kevin Aguilar via unanimous decision
Christos Giagos def. Sean Soriano via sub (D’Arce choke)
