UFC 262: Charles Oliveira defeated Michael Chandler to win the lightweight title

Charles Oliveira won the undisputed UFC lightweight title with an exciting TKO in the second round of three-time Bellator champion Michael Chandler.

The fight created UFC 262’s main event at the Toyota Center, where a crowd of 16,000 fans saw Oliveira, 31, produce a thrilling performance coming from the background to record the title that was evicted this year by retired Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Before the fight began, there was a moment of respect between them as Oliveira approached Chandler’s corner and hugged his rival before greeting each of Chandler’s corners.

As the action began, the momentum moved back and forth as they both threatened to win a stop victory in the wild starting lap.

Chandler connected with a large left hand, which caused Oliveira to shoot for removal, but the American immediately locked the guillotine from which Oliveira managed to escape well.

Oliveira then changed position, took Chandler back and watched him make his way to the back of the bare muffler. But Chandler exploded from his position and returned to his feet as the crowd applauded his approval.

With a fight on his feet, Chandler recharged and let himself fly with his hands as he approached reaching the first round of the TKO goal.

Two major blows injured Oliveira, who headed for the mat in an attempt to escape the U.S. strike force, but Chandler followed him to the canvas and continued to land heavy blows to close the opening round back and forth.

At the start of the second round, the skirmish turned its head again when Oliveira entered the strike range and dropped Chandler with a huge left hand.

Chandler quickly got to his feet, but apparently was still rocked, and Oliveira followed with multiple punches that forced Chandler to land on the canvas, where a rush of earthquakes forced Judge Dan Miragliotto to stop the fight 19 seconds into the round.

Excited, Oliveira jumped the cage fence and, after an excited exchange with the UFC’s commentary team, burst into the crowd to celebrate with the fans before finally returning to the cage and receiving the championship belt.

“I told you I was going to knock him out, and I came and knocked him out,” Oliveira said after his win, which brought him the record for most finals in UFC history at 17.

“I prove to everyone, I am a lion lion.

“Michael, you’re a great champion, but today was my day. Michael said I can’t put pressure on him and he hit, hit, hit. And I’m still here. Here’s the belt!”

Chandler was classy and generous in the defeat, paying tribute to the newly crowned champion, before promising to return to the Octagon and win the title in the next year.

“We’ve seen one of the toughest guys on the planet come back from some misfortune – Charles Oliveira is the real thing,” the 35-year-old Chandler said.

“I’m not taking anything away from him. I’ll be back. I promise I’ll win that UFC strip in the next 12 months. This has been a great opportunity. I thank the UFC for this opportunity.

“Charles Oliveira has shown that he is the perfect professional. He has appeared here for the last 10, 11 years here within the UFC octagon.

“We’ll get this one back. We’ll get it back eventually.”

Dariusz dominates Ferguson, calling for a title eliminator

In the night’s main event, Beneil Dariush dominated former UFC interim lightweight champion Tony Ferguson to secure a unanimous decision after three unilateral rounds.

Ferguson was greeted by a huge uproar as he made his way into the octagon, but the 37-year-old failed to give the fans the victory they had longed for.

Dariush, a former world champion in no-gi jiu jitsu, showed his grapping superiority during their lightweight bout, while all three judges achieved a fight of the 30-27 to 32-year-old, who recorded his 21st career victory.

Dariusz’s win extended his winning streak to seven fights and added a huge name to the list that includes Drew Dober, Scott Holtzman and Diego Ferreira.

After the fight, Dariush was distrustful that Ferguson had survived the hook attempt in the heel in the second round, welcoming his opponent’s toughness.

It popped up. Tony just said, ‘Huh?’ and then he looked at me as if nothing had happened, ”Dariush said. “He’s a zombie. No doubt about it!”

Dariush said he wants a big fight for his next assignment.

“I’m in conversation now,” he said. “It was my 20th fight in the UFC. I’m finally in conversation.

“I’d love to see myself in the title eliminator, whatever that is. But I’m going on a break. My daughter is coming next month. See you later this year or early next year. I want to spend time with my daughter.”

British Grundy was kicked out upon his return

It turned out to be a disappointing night for Briton Mike Grundy, who lost at the scoreboard to American Land Vannate in their preliminary featherweight bout.

Grundy and Vannata fought back and forth during the three rounds of their 145-pound match, and the three judges were divided in their assessment of the action.

One judge scored all three rounds for the Wigan-born Grundy, but the other two judges clashed against Vannate, who handed down the verdict by split decision with a score of 29-28, 27-30, 30-27.