On May 15th, top lightweight contenders Michael Chandler and Charles Oliviera headline UFC 262 to get their hands on the vacant Lightweight Championship belt in front of a full house.
Michael “Iron” Chandler (22-5) signed for UFC in 2020 as a backup fighter in the match between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Justin Gaethje at UFC 254. Chandler then fought Dan Hooker in his first UFC fight at UFC 257 and the American Mixed Martial Artist shocked the world after he knocked out The Hangman in the first round, which earned him his bout for the lightweight title at UFC 262.
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Charles “Do Bronx” Oliviera (30-8) meanwhile has improved over the years and has earned his spot for title the hard way and the Brazillian martial artist is currently on an 8-fight win streak. Do Bronx is known for his takedown and submission abilities as he holds the record for most wins by submissions in the promotions. His extraordinary submission skills also earned him the “submission of the year” award for his victory against Hatsu Hioki after performing an anaconda choke on him.
Both the fighters have incredible power in their punches so it should be a fair fight when both are on their feet. But the American maybe has the slight edge as we have seen him take the center of the octagon and pressurize his opponents with his forward driving movements. To add to that, he even as a stronger reach and would be waiting for his opponent to make an error which he could then counter. Oliveira needs to be careful on his feet as Chandler has the power advantage over the Brazillian (also a weak point for him as he has been knocked out 4 times in his career).
It will be a tough job for Do Bronx to takedown Chandler but if he does manage to take him to the canvas, he could put Iron to sleep with his submission skills.
[Image Credit: Michael Chandler]
Shashank Iyer