Khabib Nurmagomedov’s retirement has made an already insanely popular
division even more interesting. The UFC continues, however, and with UFC
262 in sight, many a MMA fan have jumped at the opportunity to dismiss
the main event due to the public notion that Poirier V. McGregor III should
be contested for the lightweight crown. Regardless of this belief, though, a
new lightweight champion will leave Houston’s Toyota Center with gold
around their waist. The only question is whether it will be UFC’s relative
newcomer in “Iron” Michael Chandler or the company mainstay, Charles
“do Bronx” Oliveira.
Many fans, ultimately, are reserving judgement for Chandler due to his lack
of UFC experience. While it is true that Chandler has only spent a mere
2:30 in a UFC cage, in that time he managed to knock out Dan Hooker, the
man who took Dustin Poirier the distance in a fight of the year contender.
This alone gives Chandler enough merit as a bet to win the upcoming title
fight.
Oliveira, on the other hand, holds the most submission victories in UFC
history and, with a win over Chandler, has a chance to win a UFC title in his
40th professional contest. Similar to Chandler, Oliveira’s recent domination
of former interim champion Tony Ferguson has vaulted him into title
contention. With advantages in both height and reach it is clear why
Oliveira is a favourite headed into this fight, however slight a favourite he is.
It is a safe prediction that this fight will likely remain a standing affair, due to
each fighter’s extreme comfort on the ground. That being said, the closing
moments of the contest are likely to take place on the mat; Oliveira holds
the record submission count and Chandler is an accomplished NCAA
Division I wrestler. Ultimately, it’s fairly understandable to assume this 5
round affair will not require the full 25 minutes to reveal a winner due to the
high finish rate for both men. If a Chandler win is in the cards, it is safe to
assume a TKO finish, whereas Oliveira lends himself easily to a
Submission win.
Also on the card, #9 and #5 ranked lightweight fighters, Beneil Dariush and
Tony Ferguson respectively, go to war in a new co-main event birthed from
Nate Diaz sustaining an undisclosed injury ahead of his historic 5 round
co-main event with #3 welterweight, Leon “Rocky” Edwards.
One has to assume the bright lights of a co-main event adds little stress to
the mind of perennial fan-favourite Tony Ferguson, who looks to find his
way back to the winning column after back to back losses to former interim
champion Justin Gaethje and current lightweight title contender, Charles
“Do Bronx” Oliveira. His last win coming against Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone
in 2019, Ferguson is in a must-win scenario. This was commented on in a
conversation between ESPN’s Bret Okamodo and UFC President Dana
White, in which White confirmed the fight was “big” for Ferguson.
Ultimately, though, recency bias in MMA is extremely strong and the matter
of the fact is that Tony “El Cucuy” Ferguson is still one of the most
dangerous fighters in the lightweight division whether he is standing, rolling,
or on his back.
As for the competition, Beneil Dariush is currently enjoying the highs of a 6
fight winning streak and is hoping to parlay his recent success into a
dominant performance against the one-time interim champion “El Cucuy”.
With such a performance Dariush would undoubtedly break into the top 5 of
the division and could see himself being only a few fights away from title
contention. Dariush has made much of his intention to get “wild” with Tony
Ferguson in numerous interviews, namely one with ESPN’s Marc
Raimondi, and it seems to be Dariush’s wish to showcase his grappling in
this fight as well as his striking.
The game plan of Dariush seems to ensure an entertaining fight for Both
those in attendance as well as fight fans watching live on ESPN+. Should
Dariush succeed and find a win against Ferguson, a decision seems most
likely, due in large part to the 3 round nature of the contest as well as Tony
Ferguson’s mind-blowing cardio levels and rock hard chin. For Ferguson, it
seems safe to assume a finish for a win, whether it ends up being a
submission or TKO is largely 50/50.
Ultimately UFC 262 will go down in history as a showcase of the company’s
lightweights in the dawning of a new, post-Khabib, era.
UFC 262 Will broadcast live on ESPN+ PPV, May 15th, with the main card
starting at the usual 10:00PM EST.