Michael Chandler and Charles Oliveira are set to fight for the vacant UFC lightweight title.
The news comes after UFC president Dana White finally confirmed Khabib Nurmagomedov had retired from mixed martial arts after meeting the Russian for dinner in Las Vegas this evening. Now, Chandler and Oliveira will meet at UFC 262 on May 15 to face each other for the belt, as first reported by ESPN.
For a long time, White had refrained from accepting Nurmagomedov’s desire to walk away, despite his insistence he was done with fighting immediately following his fight with Justin Gaethje. Clearly tonight, the feeling was cemented in his mind, and the UFC were quick to move on to alternate plans.
Chandler is a newcomer to the UFC, having had his first fight in January against Dan Hooker, which he won with a spectacular first-round knockout. Meanwhile, Oliveira has quietly racked up win after win, including a dominating three-round destruction of Tony Ferguson in December last year.
29-0 it is.
He is 💯 officially retired. It was incredible to watch you work @TeamKhabib thank you for EVERYTHING and enjoy whatever is next my friend. pic.twitter.com/QeoSP12zw2
— danawhite (@danawhite) March 19, 2021
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