May 7th can’t come fast enough.
The UFC lightweight title is on the line this May, and it’s the fight that everyone is eager to see.
Dana White told ESPN’s Brett Okamoto that champion Charles Oliveira and former interim champ Justin Gaethje will fight at UFC 274 on May 7th.
Oliveira (32-8, 1 NC) has won ten straight, recording finishes against everyone except Tony Ferguson along the way. After Khabib Nurmagomedov’s retirement, Oliveira and former Bellator champion Michael Chandler competed for the vacant belt at UFC 262 in Houston. Oliveira rallied from nearly getting stopped in the opening round to dramatically KO Chandler and win UFC gold in his very first title shot. In his first defense, ‘Do Bronx’ rear-naked choked Dustin Poirier in the third round of last month’s UFC 269 main event.
Gaethje (23-3) made a name for himself with his all-action fights as World Series of Fighting lightweight champion. He made his UFC debut in 2017, winning an instant classic against Michael Johnson. Gaethje won the interim lightweight belt in 2020 when he stopped Tony Ferguson in the fifth round, but was dominated and submitted by Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 254 in what proved to be Khabib’s final fight of his career. In his last bout, Gaethje won a thrilling decision over Michael Chandler at UFC 268 to secure yet another crack at the title.
As Mike Bohn of MMA Junkie noted, these two have combined for 28 post-fight bonuses. Might as well write a $50,000 bonus check for at least one of them right now.
UFC 274 does not have a location or venue, but it is expected to include a light heavyweight title showdown between champion Glover Teixeira and former RIZIN FF king Jiri Prochazka.