Toyota Center in Houston to Host to UFC 262 Including Oliveira vs. Chandler

BREAKING: The Octagon heads to Houston!

@CharlesDoBronxs vs @MikeChandlerMMA for the undisputed 155 title.

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The Ultimate Fighting Championship is not one-and-done for upcoming pay-per-view cards in packed arenas.

Late Thursday night, the UFC accepted lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov’s retirement and reclaimed his vacated belt. Moments later, the organization announced it would be staging a lightweight championship bout between Charles Oliveira (30-8, 1 NC) and Michael Chandler (22-5) on top of UFC 262. The event is set to take place on May 15, and its location has now been announced on Friday. Per the promotion, UFC 262 will take place in the Toyota Center in Houston, in front of a full crowd.

This fight card will not be the UFC’s first since the pandemic to allow for fans in the building. A few fights cards in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, starting with UFC on ABC 1 in January, permitted a limited number in the building. The Las Vegas-based league has opted to travel to Florida in April to put on UFC 261, where it will return to the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla. The Florida venue, as well as the Toyota Center, will be allowing full seating capacity in the buildings, barring a spike in coronavirus cases that causes restrictions.

One of the final pay-per-view events before the COVID-19 pandemic came in the form of UFC 247 in February 2020, where Jon Jones squared off with Dominick Reyes for the light heavyweight crown inside of the Toyota Center. This will be the seventh UFC event placed in the arena of the Houston Rockets, with the first UFC 69 in 2007. All but one – UFC Fight Night 104 in 2017 – have been pay-per-view cards.

Competing in the marquis position of UFC 262 will be the lightweight championship affair pitting the surging Oliveira against multiple-time Bellator MMA champ Chandler. Oliveira has won eight bouts at 155 pounds to reach the top, while Chandler blasted Dan Hooker in his promotional debut to get a crack at the gold. Both men hold a litany of records in their respective organizations, with Oliveira maintaining the all-time submission record with 14 as well as being tied with Donald Cerrone for the finish record of 16. “Iron Mike” still maintains the lead with 13 stoppages among all Bellator fighters for the most finishes in his previous company as well.