Charles Oliveira defeated Michael Chandler at UFC 262 to become the Lightweight champion (UFC)
Ahead of his second title defense at UFC 274, we preview the fight and take a look at the record of lightweight king Charles Oliveira
UFC lightweight king Charles Oliveira’s journey inside the UFC octagon is like a well-scripted movie. The third-degree Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, who also holds the record for the most submission victories in the UFC has had a rollercoaster of a journey.
Oliveira made his UFC debut back in August 2010, and won the fight by submission in the very first round. After winning his first two fights in the promotion, Oliveira would face two losses and one no contest in the next three fights.
His entire journey up until 2018 has been defined by him showing glimpses of brilliance and championship-calibre, and just crumbling under the pressure of the occasion at different times. He had a very inconsistent career in the UFC with a lot of switches in weight classes, till he made up his mind to stay at lightweight and embark on a path of resurgence.
The Brazilian’s first victory on this path came against Clay Guida at UFC 225 when he won the fight by guillotine choke. Since then he has been on a 10 fight win streak, which includes a victory over Tony Ferguson and Kevin Lee, lightweight title capture against Michael Chandler, and his first-ever title defense against former interim champion Dustin Poirier. His overall pro-MMA record stands at 32 wins, 8 losses and one no-contest.
Charles Oliviera will be defending his title again on May 7th against another former interim champion, the human highlight reel- Justin Gaethje. The American is fresh off his fight of the year victory against Michael Chandler. This will be his second shot at the title, having come short against Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 254.
Former interim champion Justin Gaethje has been given a second chance to get his hands on the coveted UFC gold against Charles Oliveira at UFC 274. However, his last opponent in a recent interview has picked the Brazilian to defend his throne.
He quotes, “I would not have given Charles Oliveira a chance to beat Justin Gaethje up until about the last 12 months.”
This pick in particular is quite interesting as Michael Chandler seems to be the perfect person to make the call, having clashed against both the fighters in thrilling fights.
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