Former Bellator MMA Lightweight champion and current UFC fighter Michael Chandler is gearing up to face Charles Oliveira in the headlining event of UFC 262. The bout will take place for the vacant Lightweight title.

‘Iron’ made his debut for the promotion a few months ago when he fought Dan Hooker at UFC 257. He made a quick work of the rising star with a 1st-round KO finish.

Recently, he appeared in an interview where he discussed his plans. “I truly believe at 35 years old, I’m the happiest, the healthiest and the hardest to kill that I have ever been,” he said.

“I don’t feel a day over 25, I believe I got 12 more fights left in me and 12 more UFC fights.”

‘Iron’ further opened up about his wish to switch divisions. “Having UFC gold, defending the belt, maybe going up the weight class and doing all kinds of different stuffs and a lot of fun fights.”

“Uh, that’s how I’m gonna make the impact. I wasn’t here for a long time, (So) I’m here for a good time. We gonna have a blast.”

He further said he should have entered UFC earlier, but he has no regrets about it. “So I think there was some truth to it. I think getting there breaking the seal of my UFC career made me feel like, ‘Man, maybe I should’ve done this earlier.’

“But I truly believe I was galvanized by the road I took outside the UFC to get right where I’m today,” he concluded.

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Michael Chandler vs Charles Oliveira

It’s not every day that someone gets a title opportunity in UFC in just their second match. But the dominant performance Chandler put up against Hooker made Dana White book the fight. Both faced off at UFC 257, where not only Chandler Knocked Hooker out, he made a statement.

Prior to his debut for the promotion, he had picked up two victories on the trot in Bellator and both of those came via KO.

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Oliveira, on the other hand, will come into the bout on the back of 8 successive victories. He last fought against Tony Ferguson at UFC 256. He outclassed ‘El Cucuy’ in a 5 round classic to pick up a unanimous decision victory.

Both the fighters will be preparing hard for the ultimate gold in the division. It will be a matchup between pure striking vs pure grappling.

Who will prevail in the end?