The UFC lightweight division will finally have a new king after the company acknowledged Khabib Nurmagomedov’s desire to retire and booked Charles Oliveira versus Michael Chandler for the undisputed gold on May 15, a decision that “do Bronx” didn’t see coming.
As soon as Dustin Poirier beat Conor McGregor earlier this year, Oliveira said the UFC should book him against “The Diamond” to crown the new 155-pound champion, but Oliveira-Chandler was the matchup that was made official for UFC 262 in Houston.
“I thought I was going to fight Dustin Poirier, but then I realized he was angling for the Conor trilogy, so I was cool,” Oliveira said in an interview with MMA Fighting.