Charles Oliveira, Michael Chandler to Vie for Vacant Lightweight Title on UFC 262

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Minutes after the Ultimate Fighting Championship officially accepted Khabib Nurmagomedov’s retirement, it put together a fight for his vacant belt.

On Thursday night, UFC President Dana White stated on social media that he was ceasing his quest to retain Nurmagomedov’s services as the lightweight champion. Shortly after White’s post, ESPN broke the news that the organization was moving on with its next championship bout at 155 pounds. Charles Oliveira (30-8, 1 NC) will get his first crack at the title against ex-Bellator MMA kingpin Michael Chandler (22-5). The two top-ranked lightweights will square off at UFC 262 on May 15, at a to-be-determined location.

Oliveira finally gets a shot at gold after amassing a stellar eight-fight win streak, where the Brazilian has recorded victories over the likes of Jim Miller, Kevin Lee and Tony Ferguson as he blasted through the division. “Do Bronx” came into his bout with Ferguson at UFC 256 on a seven-fight finish streak, and although he needed three rounds to overcome Ferguson, he dominated the former interim champ to get his hand raised. Oliveira holds the record for the most submission victories in company history with 14. He also is tied with Donald Cerrone for the most finishes in UFC history, with 16 each.

Chandler, a three-time Bellator lightweight champ, made his triumphant UFC debut in 2020 with an upset over Dan Hooker. “Iron Mike” smashed through Hooker, needing exactly 2:30 to put the Kiwi away with storm of punches. In his UFC 257 post-fight interview, Chandler called out Nurmagomedov, ex-champ Conor McGregor and anyone else in the weight class listening, while claiming he was the new king of the division. Chandler left Bellator as one of the winningest fighters in promotional history (17), one shy of current recordholder and rival Patricio Freire (18). He still holds the record along with Freire and David Rickels for the most bouts under the Bellator banner, with 23 appearances apiece.

UFC 262 gained its headliner of Oliveira vs. Chandler at lightweight, and it will be held on May 15 at a currently unknown location. This stacked lineup also contains a lightweight thriller between Ferguson and Beneil Dariush, while Edson Barboza squares off with Shane Burgos at featherweight. Other possible main card bouts include Alex Perez vs. Matt Schnell at flyweight, and Katlyn Chookagian against Viviane Araujo also at flyweight.