A new lightweight champion will be crowned when Michael Chandler faces Charles Oliveira at UFC 262, on May 15.
Several people with knowledge of the reserve confirmed the news to MMA Fighting on Thursday after an initial report by ESPN.
The fight to determine a new 155-pound king comes shortly after UFC president Dana White announced that Khabib Nurmagomedov was officially retired and he would not seek a potential return to the cage. This means that the UFC needed to crown a new champion, and the promotion wasted no time in finding two candidates willing to fill that spot.
For Chandler, the opportunity comes in just one fight in his UFC career, after he closed a lucrative deal with the promotion after a long career in Bellator’s MMA, where he was a multi-times lightweight champion. Chandler had an immediate impact on his debut, demolishing Dan Hooker in the first round of UFC 257 in January.
Afterwards, Chandler summoned several potential opponents with his ultimate goal of becoming the UFC champion. Now he will have that chance.
Oliveira, the former featherweight who became a lightweight, will try to continue his current streak of eight wins when he faces Chandler in May. The Brazilian initially declined a title fight against Chandler earlier this year, citing insufficient training time.
Oliveira has run over his competition in the past eight fights, including an unbalanced decision victory over former interim champion Tony Ferguson in his most recent fight.
Chandler x Oliveira is expected to headline the UFC 262 card on May 15, with the location of the event yet to be determined.