UFC 262 is in the books, and it saw one of the best title bouts in recent memory to finally crown a new lightweight champion in this post-Khabib era. Charles Oliveira and Michael Chandler went back and forth in an insane, must watch contest. “Do Bronx” survived almost getting finished in round one, then somehow immediately pressured to start round two and quickly got the TKO. After the instant classic of a title bout, Oliveira is now the new UFC lightweight champion.
The co-main event was difficult to watch if you were a Tony Ferguson fan, as he was beaten up and outclassed in just about every position. “El Cucuy” still has heart, and even toughed out a heel hook attempt from Beneil Dariush, but it was his third straight one-sided defeat, and he probably has a lot of thinking to do after a long career as a top contender.
Here’s a quick twitter thread with a brief recap and analysis of the event, that’s fitting for people’s social media era attention spans:
BARBOZA (DELAYED) KOs BURGOS
PROS: Great fight. Terrific performance for Barboza. That’s two straight wins for him at FW now
CONS: Not really a con, but that delayed KO was pretty bizarre. I’m guessing he was concussed and was just toughing it out even before the last big shot.
— Bloody Elbow (@BloodyElbow) May 16, 2021
CHOOKAGIAN DECISIONS ARAUJO
PROS: Araujo had moments on the ground (that wasn’t a fake tap),but Chookagian mostly won with volume…
CONS: …and not much power. That looked like a sparring match, and wasn’t the best display of striking. 30-27 was horrible https://t.co/AsR9nXht6z
— Bloody Elbow (@BloodyElbow) May 16, 2021
BONTORIN DECISIONS SCHNELL
PROS: Quality win for Bontorin. He had good counters and smartly tried to slow the pace down and be efficient as he was coming in on short notice.
CONS: Horrible commentary. That wasn’t a bad fight at all. https://t.co/hNw6IGrjXh
— Bloody Elbow (@BloodyElbow) May 16, 2021
DARIUSH DOMINATES FERGUSON
PROS: Dariush won every facet of the game and was never in any real trouble. He probably destroyed Tony’s knee too.
CONS: It’s sad, but I can’t sugar coat it. Ferguson looked bad and his days as a top fighter are probably done https://t.co/BnAjqi2kJW
— Bloody Elbow (@BloodyElbow) May 16, 2021
OLIVEIRA COMEBACK KOs CHANDLER
CONS: Question his heart now
PROS: What. A. Fight. Chandler’s physicality was on display, but Oliveira got it done. Badly hurt, but still immediately pressured and got the win. VERY long road to the title, but he made it. https://t.co/kNTDvCdGP4
— Bloody Elbow (@BloodyElbow) May 16, 2021
#UFC262 OVERALL
PROS: Good fights, including an instant classic title bout. Oliveira’s celebration, wide range of emotions was nice to see
CONS: Three bad losses for Tony was sad. Some weird Texas judging again. At this point, commentary on Fight Nights are better than big PPVs
— Bloody Elbow (@BloodyElbow) May 16, 2021
And that’s about it. For more social media musings, follow me on twitter over at @antontabuena, and of course you should do that for Bloody Elbow’s official twitter account as well.
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