Oliveira Made Favourite for Vacant UFC Lightweight Title Bout with Chandler
UFC’s Lightweight division has been one of the premier MMA promotion’s deepest in terms of talent for some time. In combat sports, heavyweight is traditionally the main pay-per-view draw but those competing in this class have often stolen the show when headlining.
Lighter cage fighters have been put on the map by the exploits of Conor McGregor both inside and outside of the octagon, plus the unbeaten career of Khabib Nurmagomedov. With the Russian’s retirement made official, the Lightweight title is vacant and a new champion will be crowned at UFC 262 on 15 May.
A Major Opportunity
This does feel like the end of an era. UFC’s pound-for-pound best fighter has stepped away from the sport, so the hunt for Khabib’s successor is on. Rather than book a rematch between the Lightweight division’s top two contenders, Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje, Dana White has gone down a different route.
A UFC newcomer in three-time Bellator Lightweight champion Michael Chandler, who only made his debut for White’s promotion in January, faces in-form Brazilian fighter Charles Oliveira. Neither man has the flawless record to match Khabib or the high profile of McGregor, but one will be the face of the division moving forward.
Chandler, who turns 35 before the scheduled bout, is the older man. Nobody has won more championships in Bellator and he joined UFC with a 21-5 pro MMA record. Nicknamed Iron, an homage to boxing namesake Mike Tyson, Chandler made very short work of Dan Hooker at UFC 257 on his bow for the promotion earning the performance of the night bonus.
He stopped the New Zealander early in round one of their encounter. In Bellator, Chandler traded losses with Eddie Alvarez and Brent Primus, and also fought both of the Freire brothers with mixed results.
Despite a good CV when competing for a rival promotion and his amateur wrestling background, Chandler is the underdog to win the UFC Lightweight title. Oliveira, a black belt in the Brazilian variant of Japanese martial art jiu-jitsu, is the favourite according to the スポーツベット, or sports betting as it’s known in English.
This is despite the fact that he has a poorer pro MMA record of 30-8 (1). Greater in-ring experience at a younger age could be one reason why Oliveira is the more fancied of the two to become champion. His five years at featherweight between 2012 and 2016 include five of those career defeats.
Oliveira’s return to Lightweight has been the making of Do Bronx. He has suffered just one loss in his last 10 bouts. That came courtesy of Paul Felder, now a lowly tenth in the division rankings, at UFC 218 back in 2017.
There is also a form line that explains why Oliveira is thought to have the edge over Chandler. Both men have squared off with Will Brooks at some point in their careers. Chandler twice failed in 2014 to beat him, although their first encounter split the Bellator judges. Oliveira, meanwhile, made Brooks submit inside a round when they met on a UFC Fight Night during October 2016.
Considering that, the Brazilian has to be the favourite for the gold. This is also reflected in the rankings with Oliveira just ahead of Chandler and the pair occupying third and fourth spots.
As five of Oliveira’s eight wins in his current streak have come via tap out, Chandler will be wary of his various chokeholds. We last saw him compete at UFC 256 in December where the judges unanimously awarded Oliveira victory over former interim Lightweight champ Tony Ferguson.
It makes for a fascinating contest. There may be plenty of grappling on show inside the octagon when 2009 NCAA All-American Chandler meets his Brazilian opponent. He has also won almost half of his MMA fights via KO or TKO, so strikes will be thrown too.
Expect submission specialist Oliveira to be dangerous in close. Nobody in UFC history has made as many opponents tap out as him, so that looks sure to be a key part of his game-plan once again. This clash with Chandler will elevate the winner not just to the pinnacle of the Lightweight division, but to the very top of combat sports.
