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UFC 262 ceremonial weigh-ins wrapped up in front of a roaring crowd excited for the action-packed Saturday night. Main event participants Charles Oliveira and Michael Chandler successfully made the championship limit of 155lbs and met in a respectful but intense face-off at the ceremonial weigh-ins.
Chandler and Oliveira will fight in the main event for the undisputed UFC lightweight title left vacant after former champion Khabib Nurmagomedov's retirement. Both fighters beamed with confidence at the face-off and promised to deliver a show for the returning fans at UFC 262.
Number four-ranked Michael Chandler (22-5 MMA, 1-0 UFC) is a former two-time Bellator lightweight champion who holds wins over former UFC champions Benson Henderson and Eddie Alvarez. Chandler made his UFC debut with an explosive knockout win over number seven-ranked Dan Hooker at UFC 257 in January 2021. A potential win over Charles Oliveira at UFC 262 will make Michael Chandler the second Bellator champion to win the UFC title. Eddie Alvarez is by far the only Bellator champion to have made a successful transition to the UFC and become a champion.
Chandler's opponent, number three-ranked Charles Oliveira (30-8-1NC MMA, 18-8-1NC UFC), is one of the greatest submission artists in the UFC. Fourteen of Oliveira's eighteen UFC wins have come via submission. Oliveira also holds the UFC record for most submission wins. His last fight was a unanimous decision win over perennial contender and former interim champion Tony Ferguson at UFC 256 in December 2020.
Charles Oliveira and Michael Chandler predicted the manner of victory at UFC 262
Michael Chandler is one of the most explosive and powerful punchers in the UFC's lightweight division. However, Charles Oliveira has come a long way from his grappling-centered origins and has added knockout ability to his striking arsenal in recent times. Two of Oliveira's last four wins have been KO/TKO finishes.
In the lead-up to UFC 262, Charles Oliveira and Michael Chandler both predicted a rather similar outcome to the fight, albeit in their own favor.
In the UFC 262: Countdown, Charles Oliveira predicted a first-round knockout win over Michael Chandler. The margin for error at the highest level of competition is minimal, and fights end up with shocking outcomes on more occasions than not. However, Oliveira showed no signs of hesitation in his prediction:
"Honestly? You want me to be honest? I think this guy will be knocked out in the first round," Charles Oliveira said.
Ever since he arrived in the UFC, Michael Chandler has pointed out Oliveira's struggles with weight cutting in the past. Chandler believes that missing weight is a sign of a weak person that gives up on himself when the going gets tough. In a March 2021 interview with Brett Okamoto of ESPN, Chandler predicted that Charles Oliveira wouldn't be able to escape 'Iron' Mike's explosive power and fall prey to it in the first or the second round.
