Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returned to action last night with a great pay-per-view (PPV) offering, blowing the roof off a sold out Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. In UFC 262’s main event, Charles Oliveira fulfilled his life-long dream of becoming UFC champion, stopping Michael Chandler via strikes in the second round of their 155-pound title fight (see it here). In other action, Beneil Dariush earned his seventh win in a row by handing Tony Ferguson his third straight loss with a dominant unanimous decision victory.
Biggest Winner: Charles Oliveira
This one’s not much of a surprise because “Do Bronx” pulled of an amazing comeback last night in “H-Town,” knocking out Chandler in the second round of their Lightweight title fight after nearly being finished himself in the opening frame. With the win — his ninth in a row — Oliveira became the new undisputed 155-pound champion. And it couldn’t have happened to a more deserving man. Nothing against Chandler, of course, but “Do Bronx” has been putting in work inside the Octagon for over a decade and in his 28th fight with the promotion, he earned his first-ever shot at winning UFC gold and he got the job done. “Do Bronx” is firing on all cylinders at the moment and he hasn’t tasted defeat in more than three years. Once the overlooked contender and dark horse of the division, Oliveira is now the king who can look forward to a big fight against either Conor McGregor or Dustin Poirier as his first title defense.
Runner Up: Beneil Dariush
Not only did the the Lightweight division find its new champion last night, but a new contender further solidified himself as a threat to the title after Dariush defeated former interim Lightweight champion Tony Ferguson via unanimous decision. That is now Dariush’s seventh straight win inside the world-famous Octagon, which should get him closer to the Top 5 and move him closer to his own championship dreams. In fact, his win streak is the tied with Islam Makhachev for second longest at 155 pounds — with only the new champion Oliveira having a longer one.
Biggest Loser: Tony Ferguson
It seems so long ago that “El Cucuy” was walking around as the interim Lightweight champion and the owner of a highly-impressive 12-fight win streak. Now, Ferguson finds himself the owner of a three-fight losing streak after coming up short to Dariush. That is a very deep hole Ferguson finds himself in because he simply hasn’t looked like the wrecking machine we’ve accustomed to seeing over the years. And with the 155-pound division getting a bit more crowded, it is going to be a very long road back to title contention for Ferguson. Who knows, perhaps a move up to Welterweight would give him a new lease on his combat life.
For complete UFC 262 results and coverage click here.