Namajunas is coming off of back-to-back wins over Zhang Weili in 2021, including most recently in an immediate title rematch at UFC 268. She reclaimed UFC gold by knocking Weili out with a head kick at UFC 261.
Namajunas has won three straight fights since losing her strawweight title to Jéssica Andrade at UFC 237, before getting revenge against Andrade in a non-title bout at UFC 251.
Carla Esparza, Image Credit: Getty Images
Esparza makes her return to the strawweight title fight following five-straight wins. She most recently earned a dominant second-round submission of Yan Xiaonan last May after winning a close split decision over Marina Rodriguez.
Esparza won the then-vacant strawweight championship following a win over Namajunas on The Ultimate Fighter 20. She went on to lose to Joanna Jędrzejczyk in her first title defense at UFC 185.
Namajunas hasn’t had many stumbles since the loss to Esparza. She has earned dominant wins over Jędrzejczyk, Paige VanZant, and Michelle Waterson, to name a few.
UFC 274 will be headlined by a lightweight title bout between Charles Oliveira and Justin Gaethje. It’s expected that Namajunas vs. Esparza 2 will serve as the co-main event.
UFC lightweight contender Michael Chandler has revealed he’s picking champion Charles Oliveira to emerge victorious over Justin Gaethje at UFC 274.
Despite riding an eight-fight win streak this time last year, which included triumphs over Kevin Lee and Tony Ferguson, not many would have expected Oliveira to accomplish the feats he did in 2021.
After Khabib Nurmagomedov’s retirement, “Do Bronx” found himself opposite relative newcomer Chandler in a battle for 155-pound gold at UFC 262. After five minutes of main event action, Oliveira had been knocked down, beaten, and almost finished. Less than 20 seconds into round two, though, and the Brazilian turned the tide and TKO’d the former Bellator champion.
Gaethje secured his position as number one contender over the likes of Beneil Dariush and Islam Makhachev by getting the better of Chandler in a Fight of the Year-worthy contest last November at UFC 268. Having failed to reach the undisputed throne in a unification showdown against Khabib in 2019, “The Highlight” will hope it’s second-time lucky later this year.
But in his way will be a veteran of the sport who has proven everyone wrong in his recent outings. During an episode of DC & RC, Chandler praised Oliveira’s resurgence from a 10-8-1 record in his first 19 Octagon appearances to 10-0 since his loss to Paul Felder in 2017.
“I think a lot of people would agree with me when I say that I would not have given Charles Oliveira a chance at beating Justin Gaethje up until about the last 12 months,” said Chandler. “Charles Oliveira has come back, essentially from the dead; resurrected his career from the dead.
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“He was spotty up and down, could never be relied upon when it came to performances, and just, the way that he has turned into a deadly striker, as well as one of the greatest submission artists that the sport has ever seen, as well as going out there and finishing myself, going out there and finishing Dustin Poirier; that kind of stuff comes with a little bit of added extra confidence with each time he steps inside of the Octagon,” added Chandler.
Having faced both men in 2021, the #5-ranked Chandler is in a unique position to provide a prediction for the next lightweight title clash. While he knows full well how dangerous Gaethje can be, “Iron” believes Oliveira has “too many tools.”
“I think he’s gonna be the most confident Charles Oliveira that we have ever seen, after the year of 2021 that we just saw and him gaining that title and then defending that title, when he steps inside the Octagon against Justin Gaethje. But Justin Gaethje, we all know he’s a killer.
“I think it’s an extremely exciting fight. I still think I give the edge to Charles Oliveira, to be honest. He just has too many tools. And we all know how Justin Gaethje can win. But Charles Oliveira has also proven a lot of us and a lot of the doubters wrong, that he can be in there in those wars. He’s a lot tougher and a lot more resilient than we thought he was,” concluded Chandler.
While Oliveira’s reign advances towards a date with the #1-ranked lightweight on May 7, Chandler will be hoping to secure a potential rematch against either man in his own next appearance against Tony Ferguson on the same date.
Should the 35-year-old’s prediction come true at UFC 274, perhaps he’ll have the chance to exact revenge on Oliveira for their UFC 262 clash before the year is out.
Who do you think will have their hand raised at UFC 274, Charles Oliveira or Justin Gaethje?
UFC lightweight contender Michael Chandler knows what he’s getting into with Tony Ferguson ahead of their targeted fight at UFC 274.
Chandler and Ferguson are looking to get back in the UFC lightweight title picture after a series of losses from both fighters. Chandler most recently fought against Justin Gaethje in an all-time classic at UFC 268, losing via a unanimous decision.
Ferguson has lost three in a row, including most recently to Beneil Dariush. Although he still has his trademark toughness and ability to take damage, he’s been beaten up badly in losses to Charles Oliveira and Justin Gaethje.
“The thing about Tony is he’s unbreakable,” Chandler said. “He’s a little bit crazy, got a screw loose. He’s not gonna be a guy that I’m going to be able to break, he’s not going to be a guy that I’m going to be able to wear out and tire out. But, I’m going to get in his face and put hands on him very quickly.”
One example of Ferguson’s toughness was his fight with Gaethje. Despite being blitzed on the feet by Gaethje early and often, he was still able to throw damaging shots and withstand the barrage into Round 5.
Ferguson has also only been finished twice in the entirety of his MMA career. Once against Jamie Tony back in 2009 for NFAMMA, and then the recent fifth-round TKO to Gaethje. Even in lopsided defeats to Oliveira and Dariush, Ferguson has managed to be a tough out for most of the top UFC lightweights.
Tony Ferguson
Chandler and Ferguson had been interested in fighting one another back in 2020, but negotiations never materialized. Chandler would go on to earn a vicious knockout over Dan Hooker at UFC 257 before losing to Oliveira for the vacant title at UFC 262.
Chandler and Ferguson will be on the same card as Oliveira and Gaethje at UFC 274. The winner of Chandler vs. Ferguson will look to move forward in the lightweight division and potentially enter the title shot conversation in 2022.
What is your prediction for Michael Chandler vs. Tony Ferguson?
Chandler vs. Ferguson had been hinted at by UFC President Dana White during a recent Q+A on ESPN+ with Laura Sanko. The fight will take place the same night as the lightweight title matchup between Justin Gaethje and Charles Oliveira.
Chandler last fought against Gaethje at UFC 268, losing via a unanimous decision in arguably the best fight of 2021. Before that, he had lost his first UFC title shot against Oliveira for the vacant belt at UFC 262. A win over Ferguson could get Chandler back into the lightweight title picture.
Ferguson is looking to snap a three-fight losing skid and hasn’t won since defeating Donald Cerrone via doctor’s stoppage at UFC 238. He lost to Beneil Dariush in a lopsided bout at UFC 262 after dropping fights to Gaethje and Oliveira in 2020.
Chandler made his UFC debut back at UFC 257 after a long, accomplished career in Bellator. He passed his first UFC test with flying colors, earning a first-round knockout of Dan Hooker.
Ferguson has been a mainstay of the lightweight division and earned the interim title over Kevin Lee at UFC 216. He was slated to face Khabib Nurmagomedov on five different occasions during his career but the fight was canceled due to various circumstances.
The Chandler vs. Ferguson winner will move one step closer to a title shot. UFC 274 takes place on May 7 at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, AZ.
What is your prediction for Michael Chandler vs. Tony Ferguson?
UFC bantamweight Sean O’Malley has revealed an event and opponent he’s targeting for his first Octagon appearance of 2022.
After suffering his first defeat in 2020, O’Malley made a splash last year, finishing all three of his opponents and collecting a trio of $50,000 bonuses along the way. Having secured a place in the rankings with his first-round victory over Raulian Paiva in December, it appeared 2022 was set to be a big one for “Sugar.”
Potentially giving up his nine-fight Las Vegas streak, the 26-year-old hinted that his first bout of 2022 could come at UFC 274, which is set to be held on May 7 in Phoenix, Arizona.
Interestingly, the last time O’Malley fought outside of Nevada was five years ago in Phoenix. On that night, he knocked out David Luzzo at LFA 11. He’ll be hoping for a similar result on his return to the city, but if his hopes come to fruition, he’ll be facing his toughest opponent to date, by far.
When asked if he has a name in mind for the event, O’Malley revealed he’s targeting a clash with veteran Brazilian Pedro Munhoz, who is currently ranked three places above the Montana native at #9.
“I’m thinking Pedro (Munhoz) but we will see. I’m going to make sure I can f*****g train full time and my f*****g s**t feels good,” said O’Malley. (h/t BJPenn.com)
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UFC 274 Set To Be Headlined By LW Title Fight
If a bout between O’Malley and Munhoz is added to the May 7 event, the card will grow in strength.
Elsewhere, UFC mainstays Shogun Rua, Ovince Saint Preux, and Donald Cerrone are expected to be in action, along with exciting names like Brandon Royval, Khaos Williams, and Michael Johnson.
While more fights will undoubtedly be announced over the coming weeks and months, fans will certainly now be keeping an eye out for the addition of “Sugar” Sean O’Malley to the PPV.
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Would you like to see Sean O’Malley vs. Pedro Munhoz added to the UFC 274 card?
Oliveira is coming off of his first successful title defense against Dustin Poirier at UFC 269. After withstanding an early barrage from Poirier, Oliveira was able to impose his will with his signature grappling and submit Poirier in Round 3.
Oliveira earned the then-vacant lightweight title over Michael Chandler at UFC 262 following dominant wins over Tony Ferguson and Kevin Lee.
Gaethje will get his second shot at the UFC lightweight title after losing to Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 254. He had earned the interim belt by defeating Ferguson at UFC 249 via fifth-round TKO.
Before getting the shot against Oliveira, Gaethje won a barnburner against Chandler at UFC 268. He won the fight via a unanimous decision in arguably one of the most exciting fights in UFC history.
While there isn’t any notable bad blood between Oliveira and Gaethje, there has been some verbal banter between the two sides. Gaethje has recently said that he plans to make Oliveira quit in their matchup, while Oliveira has called Gaethje a “phony” following their post-UFC 269 run-in.
The booking comes amidst an interesting lightweight title picture. Islam Makhachev is expected to face Beneil Dariush in a re-scheduled bout later this year, while Conor McGregor is looking to return in the summer.
UFC 274 is scheduled to take place at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, AZ on May 7.
What is your prediction for Charles Oliveira vs. Justin Gaethje?
Former interim UFC lightweight champion Dustin Poirier has given his thoughts on the upcoming title fight between reigning 155-pound king Charles Oliveira and challenger Justin Gaethje.
In a year full of memorable crownings, including Glover Teixeira at light heavyweight and Brandon Moreno at flyweight, it was perhaps the triumph of Oliveira that represented the greatest resurgence. From 10-8-1 in his first 19 Octagon outings, “Do Bronx” has built a 10-fight win streak, culminating in championship glory and a successful defense.
At UFC 274, Gaethje, who previously failed to reach the undisputed mountaintop against Khabib Nurmagomedov in 2019, will have his second chance to mount the throne. “The Highlight” secured the shot with victory in a FOTY-worthy clash against Chandler last November.
Poirier: “It’s An Interesting Fight”
Having defeated Gaethje in 2018 and gone 11 minutes with Oliveira just two months ago, Poirier is in a unique position to analyze and predict this year’s first lightweight title clash.
During an interview with Robby Clark for InsideFighting, “The Diamond” discussed the may pay-per-view showdown. He suggested that while Gaethje has the power and striking prowess to finish anyone, that will be his sole way to leave the Octagon with the belt on May 7.
In comparison, Poirier believes Oliveira has multiple ways to emerge victorious and defend his title for a second time.
“You know, Charles has more ways to wins. Justin has to knock him out. I think Charles can knock Justin out, Charles can submit him, Charles can win a decision; he has more ways to win,” said Poirier. That’s not saying that Gaethje won’t knock him out.
“Charles is a guy who gets hit a lot. In his last two fights, he’s touched the canvas in both fights,” added Poirier. “And Gaethje’s a guy that if he gets you hurt, he usually puts you away, and he has big power. So, if you’re able to get touched, you might not recover. It’s an interesting fight. But Charles has more ways to win.”
OLIVEIRA VS. GAETHJE IS ON, per UFC president Dana White. Championship fight will take place May 7, location TBD. What a fight. And Still? And New? pic.twitter.com/MJv2mMaqtK
In his last two outings, Oliveira has recovered from knockdowns to find a finish. Whether or not he can do that against an instinctive killer like “The Highlight” remains to be seen.
Charles Oliveira’s next lightweight title defense is set, as the Brazilian is set to take on Justin Gaethje at UFC 274 on May 7.
ESPN’s Brett Okamoto was the first to report Oliveira and Gaethje’s upcoming clash. This fight will be joining Glover Teixeira and Jiří Procházka’s light heavyweight title bout slated for the same card. There is currently no word on which fight will serve as the main event. According to the ESPN report, this card is expected to take place in the United States after originally being targeted for Brazil.
Justin Gaethje was adamant about his place as the #1 contender after defeating Michael Chandler in a Fight of the Year candidate at UFC 268. Dana White agreed with Gaethje’s self-assessment and has now put the idea into action by making the fight plans public.
Image Credit: Zuffa LLC
Earlier this week, Gaethje put MMA journalists on blast for even suggesting Conor McGregor could skip the title-shot queue and receive a title shot upon return. Should Gaethje defeat Oliveira at UFC 274, he will put himself into a powerful enough position to hold the highest cards of the lightweight title picture.
This will be Gaethje’s second opportunity at becoming lightweight champion after coming up short against then-champion Khabib Nurmagomedov in October 2020.
This bout will mark Charles Oliveira’s second lightweight title defense. Last month, he defeated Dustin Poirier at UFC 269 via third-round submission to cement himself as the king of the 155 division.
Oliveira has not lost a bout since a 2017 defeat to Paul Felder. Since then, he has turned an incredible 10-fight winning streak, with an astonishing 9 of those 10 wins being by way of finish. Come May 7, Oliveira will look to add Justin Gaethje to his highlight reel.
With the addition of this title bout, the updated UFC 274 card is as follows:
