Oliveira reaching a lightweight title fight was an incredible story in and of itself, as the Brazilian debuted in the UFC as a prodigious talent, struggled to find consistency while shifting between lightweight and featherweight, and then rattled off eight straight wins to land opposite Chandler with championship gold hanging in the balance.
Chandler, a multiple-time titleholder in Bellator, had scored a first-round knockout win over Dan Hooker in his promotional debut earlier in the year, instantly establishing himself as a contender, and 40 seconds into this one, it looked like he might add a UFC title to his mantle, as well.
The Octagon sophomore stung Oliveira with a left hand and locked onto a guillotine choke as the Brazilian shot in looking to wrestle, sinking the choke in tight. But Oliveira popped his head out and swam around to the back, forcing Chandler to sell out on defending before he was able to turn inside the body triangle and eventually work his way back to the feet.
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With two minutes remaining in the opening round, Chandler swarmed, clipping Oliveira and sending him to the canvas, desperate to grab a leg and find a way to tie up and avoid further punishment. He was able to survive, but he was cut up and bleeding, with Chandler carrying all the momentum into the second round.
Just 19 seconds after the fight resumed, the fight was over, and Oliveira was the UFC lightweight champion.
He marched out to the center confidently and dropped Chandler with a counter left hook, chasing him back to the fence where he swarmed. A right hand crashed home and another left as Chandler was trying to scurry to open space put him on the canvas once more, Oliveira unleashing piston-like lefts until referee Dan Miragliotta was forced to step in and halt the fight.
Incredibly, this has now become Oliveira’s championship trademark — dealing with damage and still finding a way to finish, as he’s rallied to earn submission wins over Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje to extend his overall winning streak to 11 as he readies to face Makhachev later this month in Abu Dhabi.
