Where We Stand: UFC 262 Edition

Outlook: Brazil’s newest champion took the longest road to the title, which made the accomplishment all the sweeter for “Do Bronx.” Now, at the top of the vicious 155-pound division, he has the pick of the litter when it comes to title challengers. Most assume the winner of the trilogy bout between Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor gets the next shot, but Justin Gaethje is looming as well. With Oliveira seemingly entering his fighting prime, and with three of his last five wins coming via knockout, he’ll be a well-rounded and dangerous test for anyone who challenges his throne.

Outlook: Many felt Poirier deserved a crack at the title after he ousted McGregor to start 2021, but “The Diamond” instead opted to dance with the Irishman once again and settle that score first. Until then, a pocket of fight fans might feel like Poirier is somewhat an uncrowned champion, but all that matters is the belt which Oliveira holds in his possession. That said, a second win over McGregor not only puts him over on the sport’s biggest star, it likely earns him another shot at the undisputed title. Unlike many fighters, it seems like Poirier is more or less in complete control of his fighting destiny.

UFC 262 FLASHBACK: Final Results | Dana White Presser | Bonus Coverage

Outlook: Gaethje was the odd man out when McGregor and Poirier signed on for their trilogy and the UFC tabbed Oliveira and Michael Chandler to fight for the vacant title, but he’s potentially the division’s boogeyman. Those who’ve lost to Gaethje in the UFC have gone a combined 4-15 (1 no contest), which might not mean anything, but fighting “The Highlight” more than likely means going to war in the Octagon. Gaethje says he was training to fight Chandler before the title fight was booked, so perhaps that’s the fight he is eyeing. If Oliveira wants to be a super active champion, maybe he tabs Gaethje as next, but at the very least, it probably makes most sense for Gaethje to either fight for gold or in a “title eliminator” of some sort.

Outlook: The lightweight division’s chaos agent in 2021 found himself on the fast track for the title and was perhaps one or two more clean ground-and-pound strikes away from earning the belt in the first round against Charles Oliveira. As it happens, though, MMA reared its fickle head, and it was the Brazilian walking out of the Octagon with the belt around his waist. The good thing for “Iron” is that he has a world of options ahead. He is determined to get another shot at the belt, and for maybe the first time in a long time, the division doesn’t feel super settled with Khabib Nurmagomedov gone. The belt could change hands one or two times by the time Chandler potentially gets back to a challenging position. It’s been a whirlwind since Chandler signed with the promotion, so he has earned a bit of a vacation, but when he returns to work, fights with Gaethje, Dariush, or even the loser of McGregor and Poirier are on the table, and that’s just in the Top 5. Chandler is a name in the division, so plenty of fighters hoping to crack the top half might eye him as their target, and that could also provide Chandelr with an opportunity to get back on track toward the title.

Outlook: With all indications pointing toward a multi-fight year for McGregor for the first time since 2016, it seems like “The Notorious” one is all-in on the sport for the time being. Surely, his plan was to be fighting for the belt or to already have it in his possession by now, but the fight game is the fight game, and instead, he’s locked in for a trilogy with Poirier. There’s buzz around McGregor that this is perhaps a crossroads moment for the Irishman, a fight he needs to win to both keep him in the title picture and engaged in the sport. Maybe that’s silly talk, seeing as he is already the biggest star in the promotion’s history, but it also holds some water. A loss to Poirier puts McGregor in a position of maybe needing two to three wins to earn a title shot (although it’s also fair to say his timeline is different than most). How McGregor adjusts to what he learned from his loss to Poirier is paramount, and if his suggestions that his time away from the sport had an adverse impact on his performance are to be taken as truth, then fighting on his quickest turnaround in five years is absolutely notable.