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Following a huge night of fights at last weekend's UFC 262, the latest episode of DC & Helwani has dropped, with multiple talking points of note. The event had several unique moments, including the crowning of a new lightweight champion. The card also had several 'Fight of the Year' and 'KO of the Year' contenders.
UFC 262 also saw lightweight veteran Tony Ferguson chalk up his third consecutive loss, ending up on the wrong side of the judges' scorecard against Beneil Dariush. While the judges came to the undeniably correct decision on that fight, several other scorecards generated controversy.
Daniel Cormier and Ariel Helwani covered these topics and more from outside UFC 262 in their most recent episode of the DC & Helwani Show. The following list comprises the three most significant talking points from the show.
#3 The Dark Horse of the UFC lightweight division
Charles Oliveira and Beneil Dariush are the center of attention following their impressive wins at UFC 262. Daniel Cormier, however, feels there is another upcoming star in the 155 lb division, Islam Makhachev.
According to Daniel Cormier, the Russian lightweight is being forced to face opponents outside the top 10 because ranked fighters refuse to fight Makhachev.
"Nobody will fight him. Islam [Makhachev] is just gonna smash 'em all. He'll beat 'em all. I know for a fact, [the fight] was offered to [Paul] Felder, it was offered to RDA, it was offered to a number of guys in that top 10, and these guys won't fight him," said Daniel Cormier.
#2 The decline of Tony Ferguson
Tony Ferguson once held a 12-fight win streak and the interim lightweight belt. However, losses to both Justin Gaethje and Charles Oliveira in 2020 put an end to an entertaining era in his fighting career. Now a third consecutive loss to Beneil Dariush has raised questions about whether Ferguson can still compete at the top level in the UFC.
Daniel Cormier did not seem to think so on his show. The UFC's former double champion had the following to say about Ferguson's drop in performance:
"He was the guy who was the star of this pay-per-view. From the weigh-ins to the pop he got at the beginning of the show, to the walkout. People know and love Tony Ferguson. But Tony Ferguson as a top-level mixed martial artist is done I believe and make no mistake about it, he's not losing to scrubs. He's fighting the best of the best but those are the fights that Tony Ferguson used to win."
#1 Another night of questionable officiating in Texas
Unfortunately, an event otherwise filled with exciting fights and highlight-reel finishes was marred by questionable judging by the officials.
DC and Helwani noted one such event. According to DC, a 10-8 to Michael Chandler in the first round of his fight against Oliveira was an example of poor officiating throughout the event. He said:
"This is absolutely insane, while chandler did win the round Charles had the back and landed some shots. The judging last night was bad."
