5 great UFC fights to look forward to in May

#4. Jan Blachowicz vs. Aleksandar Rakic – UFC on ESPN 36

Can Aleksandar Rakic take out a former champion in the form of Jan Blachowicz this May?

May 14’s UFC event features a light heavyweight headliner in the form of a clash between Poland’s Jan Blachowicz and Austria’s Aleksandar Rakic. Not only is this a bout between two of Europe’s best fighters, but there’s plenty on the line, too.

For former light heavyweight titleholder Blachowicz, it’s a chance to prove that his defeat at the hands of Glover Teixeira was simply a bad night for him and not an indicator of an overall downswing in his fortunes.

After all, prior to that loss, ‘The Prince of Cieszyn’ had been on the form of his life, dispatching Dominick Reyes to claim the light heavyweight crown and then becoming the first man to defeat reigning UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya in MMA.

Rakic, meanwhile, has been threatening to break out as a top contender at 205 pounds for a long time now. Despite picking up big wins over Anthony Smith and Thiago Santos, two former title challengers, he hasn’t quite achieved that signature victory yet.

Essentially, then, this is a fight that both men desperately need to win, and to be frank, neither can really afford to lose. With both fighters being heavy-hitting strikers, it’s likely that we could see fireworks here, giving the fans a big-time main event to look forward to in May.

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#3. Michael Chandler vs. Tony Ferguson – UFC 274

Michael Chandler's fight with Tony Ferguson is bound to produce fireworks

May 7 sees the only major pay-per-view of the month in the form of UFC 274. It’s safe to say that on paper at least, this event looks like one of the strongest in a long time.

The event features two title bouts at the top of the card, but it’s highly likely that the main card clash between lightweight action heroes Michael Chandler and Tony Ferguson might be the most exciting fight of the night. In fact, if these two deliver in the way they’re capable of, they could produce an outright classic.

The bout will be Ferguson’s first trip to the octagon since his loss to Beneil Dariush in May 2021. It should be interesting to see whether ‘El Cucuy’ can get back to his best form here.

At his peak, the TUF 13 winner put together a 12-fight win streak and was arguably the world’s most feared 155lber. Dince his loss to Justin Gaethje in 2020, he hasn’t looked like the same fighter. A win over Chandler, however, would shoot him right back into contention.

Chandler, meanwhile, is coming off his own loss to Gaethje in a wild brawl that was widely recognized as one of 2021’s best fights. ‘Iron’ did plenty of damage in that fight, but in the end, he simply couldn’t quite keep up with the power punching of ‘The Highlight’.

The former Bellator titleholder is still a viable title contender, but if he were to lose to Ferguson, putting him on a three-fight losing streak, his relevance would have to be questioned.

With that in mind, this is a must-win fight for both men, and given that their styles are all-action, with both men willing to throw bombs standing and push an inhuman pace, they seem highly likely to produce one of the best fights of the month.