Thursday was a busy night for the UFC and especially its red hot lightweight division.
Fresh from the confirmation of champion Khabib Nurmagomedov’s retirement, ESPN’s Brett Okamoto reported that top contenders Charles Oliveira and Michael Chandler will compete for the vacant UFC lightweight title at UFC 262.
The event will take place on 15 May, though there is no confirmed location for UFC 262 at the time of writing.
Oliveira will enter this bout in fine form. “Do Bronx” is on an eight-fight winning streak and scored the biggest wins of his career in his last two outings over Tony Ferguson and Kevin Lee.
The Brazilian UFC veteran is tied with Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone for the most wins by finish in the promotion’s history with 16.
Chandler has made a big splash in the lightweight division since signing with the UFC. He demolished the tough and highly-ranked Dan Hooker on his UFC debut at UFC 257 and the three-time Bellator MMA lightweight champion has since campaigned for fights with Oliveira, Nurmagomedov, Conor McGregor, Dustin Poirier… Anyone who could get him closer to the UFC belt.
During his time with Bellator, Chandler notched big wins over names such as Eddie Alvarez, Benson Henderson, Patricky “Pitbull” Freire, Brent Primus and Marcin Held.
UFC 262 is shaping up to be a big event that ultimately begins a new chapter of the UFC’s 155 pound division.
Earlier in the week, news emerged that former interim champion Ferguson will be fighting Beneil Dariush on the card and the UFC will continue adding big names to the bill ahead of 15 May.