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Charles Oliveira has taken to Twitter to show off his preparations for his UFC lightweight title fight against Michael Chandler. The pair are set to go five rounds for the vacant belt at UFC 262 in May.
Oliveira, 31, is riding high in the UFC. In a period where he's been criminally underrated, the Brazilian has put together an eight-fight winning streak, the last of which was total domination over former interim champion Tony Ferguson.
Ahead of the biggest fight of his career, Oliveira shared some of the striking work he's been putting in with his 25,000 followers. Watch the Twitter clip below:
Charles Oliveira is ready to go
It's clear Charles Oliveira is working hard to achieve lightweight glory in May. Judging by the debut of Michael Chandler, it seems 'Do Bronx' will need every ounce of the stand-up skills he possesses to go toe-to-toe with 'Iron Mike'.
Chandler’s UFC debut was one of the most anticipated fights coming into 2021. The former Bellator champion signed with the UFC last September. Dan Hooker accepted the task of welcoming Chandler to the promotion; a task that was completed in just over two minutes. It didn’t go how the Kiwi had planned.
Chandler, 34, looked about as good as a UFC debutant could. He landed a vicious left-hook to down “The Hangman” before brutal ground and pound forced Marc Goddard to stop the fight. It was one of the most impactful debuts in UFC history.
A new era at 155lbs
Charles Oliveira and Michael Chandler will be fighting for the vacant belt after the retirement of Khabib Nurmagomedov. The Russian has amassed a 29-0 professional record and defended the UFC lightweight belt on three occasions.
'The Eagle' had originally announced his retirement after he defeated Justin Gaethje at UFC 254 last October. After months of uncertainty and speculation, Dana White confirmed his retirement and detailed the plans moving forward in the division just weeks ago.
Now, with Charles Oliveira and Michael Chandler fighting for the strap, and Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier set to complete their trilogy in July, the lightweight division is back on track.
The championship fight between Charles Oliveira and Michael Chandler goes down on May 15th, inside the sold-out Houston Toyota Center.
