UFC 274 Results: Charles Oliveira, Michael Chandler Wins Highlight Main Card
The biggest UFC event of the year so far took place on Saturday night, with two title fights headlining UFC 274 from the Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona.
Technically there were only 1.5 title fights on the card. Charles Oliveira, who was supposed to defend the lightweight championship in the main event, was stripped of the title after missing weight on Friday.
UFC did rule that Justin Gaethje was still eligible to win the title if he defeated Oliveira, but Oliveira could not regain the championship with a win.
Oliveira made quick work of Gaethje, though their three-minute battle was one of the highlights of the show.
Both fighters came out swinging at the opening bell. Gaethje sent Oliveira to the mat twice in quick succession, first with an uppercut and then with a right-left combination.
Oliveira came back with a right of his own that dropped Gaethje. Do Bronx eventually got Gaethje's back and locked in a rear-naked choke to get the tapout.
UFC now has a decision to make about the lightweight title. Oliveira will presumably be put in a championship fight against an opponent to be determined later this year.
Oliveira made it clear he doesn't care who UFC puts in front of him, though he did have a message for Conor McGregor.
Despite being two of the best lightweight fighters in UFC for many years, Oliveira and McGregor have never crossed paths inside the Octagon.
The co-main event was a women's strawweight championship bout between Rose Namajunas and Carla Esparza. This was a rematch of the finale from The Ultimate Fighter: A Champion Will Be Crowned in 2014.
Esparza won that match to become the first women's strawweight champ in UFC history. Namajunas entered this event as the reigning champion and making her second title defense.
Their second bout wasn't nearly as memorable as the first one. Esparza did get another win over Namajunas, but it was roundly criticized for a lack of action by both fighters.
According to UFC's official stats, Esparza and Namajunas combined to land 68 strikes and score three takedowns over five rounds.
Main Card Results
Men's Lightweight: Charles Oliveira def. Justin Gaethje via first-round submission (rear-naked choke)
Women's Strawweight Championship: Carla Esparza def. Rose Namajunas via split decision (47-48, 49-46, 48-47)
Men's Lightweight: Michael Chandler def. Tony Ferguson via second-round TKO (front kick)
Men's Light Heavyweight: Ovince Saint Preux def. Maurício Rua via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 30-27)
Men's Welterweight: Randy Brown def. Khaos Williams via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Preliminary Card Results
Men's Bantamweight: Journey Newson def. Fernie Garcia via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Women's Strawweight: Loopy Godinez def. Ariane Carnelossi via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-26)
Men's Flyweight: CJ Vergara def. Kleydson Rodrigues via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Women's Flyweight: Tracy Cortez def. Melissa Gatto via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Men's Welterweight: Andre Fialho def. Cameron VanCamp via first-round knockout (punch)
Men's Heavyweight: Blagoy Ivanov def. Marcos Rogerio de Lima via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Men's Flyweight: Brandon Royval def. Matt Schnell via first-round submission (guillotine choke)
Women's Catchweight (146.5 lbs): Macy Chiasson def. Norma Dumont via split decision (30-27, 28-29, 30-27)
Men's Welterweight: Francisco Trinaldo def. Danny Roberts via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-26)
Michael Chandler scored one of the best knockouts of the year in a win over Tony Ferguson. He dropped El Cucuy with a front kick to the face at the start of the second round.
Ferguson remained on the mat for several minutes before he regained consciousness. Trainers helped him to his feet as Chandler was still celebrating in the Octagon.
Chandler used the moment after his thrilling knockout to challenge McGregor, who turned out to be a very popular person on this night, to a welterweight bout:
McGregor, who has a 2-1 career record as a welterweight with wins over Nate Diaz and Donald Cerrone, indicated on Twitter he is open to the fight:
Meanwhile, a planned bout between Cerrone and Joe Lauzon was canceled shortly after the prelims began. UFC color commentator Joe Rogan said on the telecast (h/t Damon Martin of MMA Fighting) that the medical staff thinks Cerrone may have suffered food poisoning.
This card was loaded with slow-paced bouts that left the Phoenix crowd restless and wanting to see action. Brandon Royval and Andre Fialho provided some excitement during the prelims with first-round finishes.
Fialho dropped Cameron VanCamp with a left hook and followed it up with another big punch as his opponent was on the canvas to get the knockout midway through the opening round.
Royval looked like he was going to get caught in a choke of his own after Matt Schnell blocked a takedown attempt and grabbed him by the neck. Roval wound up getting on top and locking in a guillotine to get the submission victory.
