Charles Oliveira left and UFC No 4. Lightweight Michael Chandler right face off for the UFC Lightweight Championship Belt at an open-to-the-public press conference (Imago)
Dustin Poirier had his eye on the UFC 262 main event as Charles Oliveira defeated Michael Chandler to become the new Lightweight champion
Dustin Poirier wasn’t fighting at UFC 262 but the Diamond had his eyes on the main event. That saw Charles Oliveira vs Michael Chandler fight for the undisputed UFC Lightweight title.
This was the first title clash since Khabib Nurmagomedov vacated the gold, and it was quite a fight. Chandler, who won his UFC debut, was firing on all cylinders and rocked Oliveira in the first round. It was a miracle that Oliveira survived the barrage but this was a turning point in the clash.
Du Bronx came out fighting in the second round and got Chandler hard. The former Bellator star tried to run away and stay in the fight, but it just didn’t work. Oliveira hunted Chandler down and knocked him out to become the 11th undisputed Lightweight champion.
The pair had a ton of respect between them and Poirier also posted a classy message after the clash. He congratulated Oliveira and wanted Chandler to keep his head up:
“Congratulations @CharlesDoBronxs you earned that the hard way! Head up @MikeChandlerMMA highest of the highs and lowest of the lows.”
It made sense for Poirier to keep his eye out on this clash. The Diamond does have his trilogy with Conor McGregor soon, and should he win that, he should be back in the title hunt.
Oliveira certainly proved he was championship material as he survived an onslaught and picked up an incredible win.
The Brazilian has been in the MMA business for over a decade, and it will be interesting to see what is next for him.
Justin Gaethje is also keen on a fight for the title as he was the last person to face Khabib. McGregor also cannot be ruled out of the race, especially if he beats Poirier.
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