UFC 262 Chandler vs Oliveira, Ferguson vs Dariush is finally here. The biggest fight on the card was postponed to UFC 263. Nate Diaz had to pull out of his fight vs Leon Edwards because of an illness and for the first time since December 2018, when Khabib defeated Al Iaquinta for the vacant Lightweight Title, will we have a new champion. Since that date, we’ve seen Khabib run through everyone in the division including Conor Mcgregor, Justin Gaethje and Dustin Poirier. On tonight’s card we will see Michael Chandler, looking to prove to everyone that he belongs with the big boys in the UFC vs Charles Oliveira who is coming in on a eight fight win streak. The stakes are high for the entire Lightweight division, including a fight between former Interim champ Tony Ferguson vs rising contender Benny Dariush.
Michael Chandler (22-5 )vs Charles Oliveira (30-8)
This fight is so tough to call because it’s between a BJJ specialist with excellent hands and a wrestler with crazy power punches. Chandler has the slight advantage tonight with his wrestling ability and the pressure that he loves to put on fighters. Oliveira has the most submission victories in UFC history but I don’t see him choking out Chandler tonight. Chandler’s neck is rock solid and his wrestling and grappling skills won’t allow him to get caught in a submission. Oliveira is scrappy and creative, this creates a problem for Chandler since he is always well prepared and calculates his opponents tendencies extremely well. Both fighters love to push the fighter that puts on the most pressure and is the most explosive will win this fight. Either way we will have a great fight and expect a great finish.
Chandler by decision +620
Beneil Darius (20-4-1) vs Tony Ferguson (26-5)
This fight is nuts because not only can’t we predict what will come out of Tony Ferguson’s mouth but we don’t know what kind of fight we will see. Dariush is a highlight reel waiting to happen. His spinning back elbow on Scott Holtzman was unreal but I don’t see that working against a guy like Ferguson. Ferguson is the most unconventional fighter we have ever seen. Dariush fights out of Kings MMA where they breed brawlers like Giga Chikatze but we’ve see Benny get rocked vs unranked and less experienced fighters. Ferguson’s biggest advantage is his conditioning. Ferguson has gone the distance before in brawls vs Oliveira and a TKO loss to Gaethje at 3:39 in the 5th round. Will Dariush be able to keep the pace? We don’t know. This fight will bring you off your seats that’s for sure.
Ferguson by KO +420
Also if you haven’t seen The Pre Fight press conference then do yourself a favour.
There are plenty of other fights on this card that have tremendous value if you’re looking to make some money and watch great fights.
Here are my picks for tonight’s fights.
Antonina Shevchenko (9-2) vs Andrea Lee (11-5)
Shevchenko by KO/TKO +740
Christos Giagos (18-8) vs Sean Soriano (14-6)
Giagos by TKO/KO +480
Shane Burgos (13-2) vs Edson Barboza (21-9)
Burgos by decision +180
Enjoy the fights and feel free to tweet me if I’m wrong!