UFC 262 proved to be quite eventful, and the results would seem to show a power shift among the current crop of stars in the lightweight division.
In the main event, Charles Oliviera scored a second round stoppage over Michael Chandler while in the co-main, Beneil Dariush dominated Tony Ferguson over three rounds.
LIGHTWEIGHT. Don’t look now, but there’s a new fighter at the apex of the division.
Coming into the fight, Oliviera was on an eight-fight win streak, but less than a minute into the fight, it looked like that streak would come to an end as he found himself in perilous struggle after Chandler locked on a guillotine choke.
He managed to escape and regain a dominant position, but a short while later he was dropped by a right hand and looked to be in trouble again.
Luckily, he survived but he ended the round leaking blood after absorbing numerous elbow shots and punches.
He would later reverse his fortune dramatically in the 2nd as he scored with a short sweet left hook just seconds after the start of the round and followed it up with a nasty flurry as he swarmed Chandler along the cage.
In the press conference leading up to the event, Chandler had been jawing with Ferguson, which had fans anticipating a fight between these two talented warriors.
Unfortunately, that is not happening in the near future as Ferguson also forgot to take care of his end of the business.
Oliviera can now opt to face the winner of Poirer vs. McGregor 3, which will be the main event for UFC 264.
Oliviera is a well-rounded fighter who fights aggressively, and so he would be a great opponent against whoever emerges victorious at UFC 264.
EL CUCUY. I am gutted for Ferguson. Fondly revered as some sort of a bogeyman, “El Cucuy” is now on a slump, having lost his last three fights including losses to Oliviera and Dustin Poirer.
He had added famed boxing trainer Freddie Roach to his team, but during the fight against Dariush, he hardly had any chance to showcase whatever boxing improvements he had made.
Dariush came at him with takedowns and leg kicks and at one point, Ferguson seemed to be at the point of a submission from a heel hook. Incredibly, he fought his way out of that, which actually is emblematic of how he is perceived as a fighter.
Still, after a 12-0 win streak in the lightweight division, Ferguson is quite unfamiliar navigating this position in his career.
His response was quite typical of El Cucuy. He says he’s pissed.
VERBATIM.“Retire and give these [motherf*ckers] a break?” Ferguson wrote. “No, I don’t think so, not on my watch. Now I’m pissed.”
LAST ROUND. It’s on Deputy Speaker Congressman Pablo John F. Garcia, 3rd District Representative, as he celebrates his birthday this week. Cheers!