UFC 262: Oliveira vs Chandler - May 15 🇺🇸

[wandshogun09]

Another fantastic show pretty much top to bottom.

Maybe my favourite MMA moment of 2021 so far. Right up there with Poirier twatting McGregor. It’s almost surreal seeing him with the belt. My favourite ‘title win you never expected to happen’ since Robbie Lawler. 

Was a brilliant fight as well. The first round was one of the best of the year so far. I really thought Chandler had him with the guillotine in the first minute. Imagine that? Chandler submitting Oliveira was the one result nobody was predicting. Then Oliveira turns it around and takes the back. Then Chandler starts fucking him up with his hands, drops him, ground and pound, USA chants from the neckbeards, cuts him. By the end of the first round I’d almost given up on Oliveira becoming champ. This was a beating the likes of which Oliveira has crumbled from in the past. And there was still 4 rounds left. Not good.

Seconds into round 2...

Just beautiful!

Over the moon with this. Not just that he won, but to do it in such a great fight and come back from adversity like he did made it even more satisfying. The one knock on Oliveira, and I was as guilty of it as anyone, was that he had a tendency to fold if things got rough. He put some of that to bed last night. I know Dana’s being all noncommittal but I think it’s almost guaranteed that Oliveira defends against the winner of Poirier vs McGregor 3 next. It feels like the most obvious route ever. 

Side note - And I feel like I say it after every event now, Joe Rogan is SHIT! Just awful on the ears. It’s becoming an increasing annoyance and he’s ruined many a great moment like this with his shite. I stayed up live for this and was knackered and a bit drunk by the end so thought maybe I was being harsh. Watched the finish again just now and it still got on my tits. 

Rogan at the finish last night.

”OOOOOOOOH! WOOOOAAAH! WOOOOOOOOAAAAH! OOOOOH! CONGRATULATIONS. OH MY GOODNESS. OH MY GOODNESS. WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW!” 

It went on longer. The worst. Just repeats himself over and over again. Shouting WOW over everyone else. Then DC’s trying to be louder which just makes it worse. I’ve noticed this has gotten much, much worse since they started having that camera at the desk to catch the commentators reaction. They’re all too aware of it and playing to it. I mean you want enthusiasm from the commentators but this doesn’t even seem like real enthusiasm anymore. It’s basically the commentary equivalent of faking an orgasm. I know I’m probably being harsh moaning after such a great show but whatever. Rogan should’ve gone when Goldberg did.

Dariush vs Ferguson was good but not quite as good as I’d hoped and expected it would be. Dariush just dominated him. It was very similar to the Oliveira fight in a lot of ways. The crowd response for Ferguson was nuts and it added to the drama of the fight. But it was a big win for Dariush. I think the talk from the commentary about Ferguson’s decline was a bit much. He’s definitely on the slide, I’m not denying that at all. But it’s also the style. Usually he can rely on his guard and work subs from there or cut guys up with elbows from the bottom. But with slick grapplers like Dariush and Oliveira, that advantage was gone. Tony’s decline is certainly a factor, but I think Dariush deserves his credit as well.

What are Ferguson’s limbs made from though? 

In back-to-back fights now, first he nearly had his armed ripped off by Oliveira, now this. Nasty.

What was Dariush banging on about in his post-fight interview though? Marxism, Elon Musk and his wife’s car? Get out. I’ve been a fan of this guy for years and he chooses now, after the biggest win of his career, to be a fucking goof?

Chookagian vs Araujo did nothing for me, as expected. There’s a reason why Chook’s Twitter getting hacked and flooded with porn has been the biggest talking point of her entire career. She’s just no fun to watch. I’m not even sure she should’ve got the decision either. And certainly not 30-27 like the one judge had it. How do you give her the second round where she got mounted and choked for a big chunk of it? It was a close fight that I felt Araujo edged. But I can’t pretend I was playing close attention so whatever. I thought the ‘phantom tap’ talk was something of nothing though. Easily the fight I enjoyed least on the entire card. 

Barboza vs Burgos was exactly what everyone thought it’d be. I like both but I was chuffed to see Barboza put in a really strong performance and get the big finish.

The delayed reaction there made it even scarier. It was like he got knocked out from the feet up. His legs were gone and when his brain caught up he was done. Great fight. Burgos was tough and game but you could see the difference in striking technique from early on and Barboza was just too sharp and accurate. Love watching Barboza. His striking is a thing of beauty to watch. I’m hoping he can keep this momentum going at 145 now. He looked better than he has in a long time here. Don’t know if that’s down to the style of opponent, him becoming more comfortable at the weight or a bit of both. 

Muniz vs Jacare finish was sickening. Jacare just can’t buy a win these days. Muniz was always going to be tougher to steamroll on the ground than most Jacare opponents but I don’t think anyone expected it to end how it did. A gif doesn’t do it justice. You need to hear it.

Vile. He’s 41 years old now. I’m not sure he comes back from this. Or even wants to. Crazy that this has happened to him in BJJ against Roger Gracie (and he still won) and now in MMA as well. 

Vannata vs Grundy was a lot of fun. Just all action in all areas. Didn’t even realise this was Lando’s debut at 145. He looked good. Although I thought the commentary was a bit biased towards him. Grundy was in it and I didn’t think it was as one sided as Rogan and DC were making it seem. Scorecards were all over the shop though. 30-27s both ways and all sorts.

Nice to see Terry Etim in the Grundy corner as well.

Although I hope he didn’t have too many flashbacks seeing Barboza around during fight week. 

Jordan Wright came out guns blazing against Jamie Pickett. Short and sweet. He wasn’t fucking about. 

Andrea Lee vs Antonina Shevchenko was alright. Nothing special but the sub was sweet.

Especially after Lee had her in the triangle for what seemed like a month. Sad to see the mediocre Shevchenko sister back in the loss column. 

Priscila Cachoeira put a horrible beating on Gina Mazany down on Fight Pass. Christ almighty. One of them that got uncomfortable to watch, Mazany was turning her back and all sorts by the end as Cachoeira just walked her down and busted her up.

She’s not beating anyone good but I kind of like seeing Cachoeira get some positive moments in there. I’ll never forget when they fed her to Valentina Shevchenko and she got massacred. The canvas looked like OJ Simpson’s driveway that night in 94. 

And if you skipped the Fight Pass bit, I’d highly recommend tracking down the Christos Giagos vs Sean Soriano fight. Really good stuff. Great way to kick the night off and Giagos coming from behind to get the submission was quality. 

A D’Arce of all things as well, in the first fight on a Tony Ferguson card. I thought this might be an omen but it obviously wasn’t. One of the best fights on the card. 

Tremendous card. 

Edited May 16, 2021 by wandshogun09

[Dai]

Oliveira/Chandler was fantastic. Outstanding first round. With hindsight, maybe Chandler should of let Oliveira up instead of the ground and pound, as DC suggested. That said, I personally think it was OK to keep it on the ground, as Oliveira wasnt that rocked, and it was good tactics to 'bank' a few minutes of wearing on him in the guard in the first round of a five round fight.

Speaking of great first rounds, the Barboza fight also had a cracking one. Great scrap, and surely the only time any of us have seen such a delayed reaction on a punch. Very scary when you think it took 5 seconds for the brain to shut down.

Its almost a year to the day from the Ferguson/Gaethje fight. It really does look like Gaethje took part of Fergusons soul in that fight. 54 weeks ago, Ferguson was considered 'the best of the rest', and the man to give Khabib his toughest test. Now hes struggling to keep a top 10 ranking. One of the biggest and quickest fall from graces of all time in the UFC, surely? Chuck, Bararo, Pettis, cant think of many more.

[RancidPunx]

I agree completely on the commentary....

Its almost become about what crazy reactions from DC and Rogan can we get to go viral. Mike Goldberg got a lot of shit but his reactions still felt more natural and not as forced and i never remember getting as annoyed by him.  

i call it ‘matey’ commentary, Ian Wright comes to mind in a football sense too.

 

 

Edited May 16, 2021 by RancidPunx

[Tamura]

I'm pretty sure if you just randomly played Joe Rogan saying "he hurt him", "oh my goodness" and "this is crazy" nobody would notice he wasn't actually there commentating.

[jimufctna24]

Perhaps Rogan and Goldberg needed one another. Goldberg just pisses about without Rogan around to keep him on the straight and narrow. While Rogan is perhaps a little too relaxed without Goldberg around to babysit. 

As Wand also alluded to, it also doesn't help that the UFC have encouraged his OTT reactions by filming them and also placed DC beside him. It should have been obvious that the pair would try and out-do one another. 

 

Edited May 16, 2021 by jimufctna24

[neil]

1 hour ago, wandshogun09 said:

Side note - And I feel like I say it after every event now, Joe Rogan is SHIT! Just awful on the ears. It’s becoming an increasing annoyance and he’s ruined many a great moment like this with his shite. I stayed up live for this and was knackered and a bit drunk by the end so thought maybe I was being harsh. Watched the finish again just now and it still got on my tits. 

Rogan at the finish last night.

”OOOOOOOOH! WOOOOAAAH! WOOOOOOOOAAAAH! OOOOOH! CONGRATULATIONS. OH MY GOODNESS. OH MY GOODNESS. WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW!” 

It went on longer. The worst. Just repeats himself over and over again. Shouting WOW over everyone else. Then DC’s trying to be louder which just makes it worse. I’ve noticed this has gotten much, much worse since they started having that camera at the desk to catch the commentators reaction. They’re all too aware of it and playing to it. I mean you want enthusiasm from the commentators but this doesn’t even seem like real enthusiasm anymore. It’s basically the commentary equivalent of faking an orgasm. I know I’m probably being harsh moaning after such a great show but whatever. Rogan should’ve gone when Goldberg did.

Couldn't agree more. I mean take a look at this tweet 

You could just replace that reaction with any of the shows they've done. Only improved by the inclusion of Bae Olivi.

[Zebra Kid Mark]

Fantastic show but I have to admit I am gutted about the result, I really wanted Chandler to win but if he were to lose, I am glad it was to a glass act like Do Bronx. Him shaking everyones hands before the fight just oozed class. Chandler should keep his chin up though, the fight was 5 minutes and 20 seconds long and he dominated for 4 minutes of it. Do Bronx vs Conor/Dustin is almost a given but the the rest of the division is wide open.

Gaethje, Chandler, Dariush, RDA, Islam, The loser of Conor/Dustin. If you pair them up it will be fireworks and generate a new contender. 

Ferguson is made of some weird stuff, how did he survive that leg lock? Unreal. Dariush did what he had to do, he deserves another top 5 contender now. Hopefully they stick Ferguson with some one more favourable to his style next, he's out of the title picture forever now (I think) so I'd like to see him fight the likes of Conor, Diaz or Hooker. Some one who's not going to wrestle him as that is quite clearly the blue print to beating him.

 

[Slapnut]

16 minutes ago, Zebra Kid Mark said:

Chandler should keep his chin up though

Isn’t that how he lost the fight in the first place?

[John Matrix]

Just seen the gif @wandshogun09 posted of that Ferguson knee bar, and can’t help but wonder how the fuck he blew the Khabib fight by stepping off a kerb awkwardly!

[BrodyGraham]

I've seen a lot of horrible arm bars and locks, joints and bones jump out of position and stuff, but I can't recall hearing an arm break as audibly as Jacare's. Grim.

[wandshogun09]

[jimufctna24]

I've never really understood the love for Tony Ferguson. I've always considered him to be an overrated fighter with a lame personality. 

Still, I really regret that the Khabib fight never happened. Not because I think Ferguson would have won or even been competitive, rather because it feels like the years of hype and arguments over the fight were all for nothing.

What a waste. 

Edited May 16, 2021 by jimufctna24

[Panhead]

For me, Khabib's retirement blows the title picture wide open. I think there's at least eight fighters in the top ten, that could feasibly beat each other. I can see the title changing hands a few times over the next couple of years. 

Chandler vs Gaethje next, please. Dariush against the loser of Poirier/McGregor. 

[Shane O' Mac Version 2]

Really enjoyable card. 

I'm over the moon about Oliveira's victory. He got through some dicey spots in the first round. I re-watched the fight this morning and it wasn't quite as bad as it seemed live. Oliveira stayed calm and escaped the early guillotine, but the subsequent damage felt a lot worse in the moment knowing Chandler's power and Oliveira's track record of wilting under pressure. He took maybe 3 hard shots on the ground but otherwise largely kept Chandler at bay. Then he went Super Saiyan to start R2.

On the other end of things, Tony Ferguson getting handled like that for the second fight in a row was depressing as hell. At least the Gaethje loss was a barnburner. Oliveira and now Dariush shut Tony down completely. And between Ferguson and Cerrone lately, it's hitting home that I've been a dedicated UFC fan long enough to see the UFC debuts, rise, and fall of some of these fighters. I watched sporadically throughout the 2000s but it was really 2010 when I started watching enough to consider myself a proper fan.

[Egg Shen]

I may be in the minority here but i love the Rogan/Anik/DC combination. I can fully understand why people dont like but i just like the enthususiasm of the tea..

The main event was tremendous. Chandler had a storming first round, i thought he'd blown it when he allowed Oliveira to takd his back but he survived and put a beating on Oliveira.

Im not sure how that second round might have gone if it hadnt ended so early. Chandler put a lot into that opening round, i think we may have seen Oliveira really take over. Quite gutted for Chandler, i would have loved to see him win it.

Think the co-main event proved that Ferguson as a top level fighter is finished. Just physically dominated and off the pace. Quite sad to see such a rapid decline.