| UFC 262: Oliveira vs. Chandler | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 The poster for UFC 262: Oliveira vs. Chandler | ||||
| Promotion | Ultimate Fighting Championship | |||
| Date | May 15, 2021 (2021-05-15) | |||
| Venue | Toyota Center | |||
| City | Houston,Texas, United States | |||
| Attendance | 16,005[1] | |||
| Total gate | $4,110,000[1] | |||
| Buyrate | 300,000[2] | |||
| Event chronology | ||||
| ||||
UFC 262: Oliveira vs. Chandler was amixed martial arts event produced by theUltimate Fighting Championship that took place on May 15, 2021 at theToyota Center inHouston,Texas, United States.[3][4]
AUFC Lightweight Championship bout for the vacant title between former three-timeBellator Lightweight World ChampionMichael Chandler andCharles Oliveira headlined the event.[5] Former championKhabib Nurmagomedov announced his retirement immediately after defending his title atUFC 254 last October, citing his father's death from complications related toCOVID-19 in July as the main reason behind it.[6] Despite his announcement, the title was never officially vacated as UFC PresidentDana White said several times that he believed Nurmagomedov would still fight again. White finally conceded on March 19 as he confirmed Nurmagomedov's retirement.[7]
A welterweight bout betweenLeon Edwards and formerUFC Lightweight Championship challengerNate Diaz (alsoThe Ultimate Fighter 5 lightweight winner) was expected to take place at this event. It would've marked the first five-round non-title co-main event in UFC history.[8] However, Diaz pulled out due to a minor injury in early May and the bout was postponed toUFC 263.[9]
A flyweight bout between formerUFC Flyweight Championship challengerAlex Perez andMatt Schnell was scheduled for the event.[10] However, Perez was forced to pull out due to undisclosed reasons. He was replaced byRogério Bontorin and the bout took place at bantamweight.[11] At the weigh-ins, Bontorin weighed in at 137 pounds, one pound over the division's non-title fight limit. The bout proceeded at catchweight and he was fined 20% of his purse, which went to Schnell.[12]
Joel Álvarez was scheduled to faceChristos Giagos in a lightweight bout.[13] However, Álvarez was removed from the bout in early May due to allegedvisa issues that restricted his travel. Giagos faced returning veteranSean Soriano instead.[14]
A middleweight bout betweenJack Hermansson andEdmen Shahbazyan was expected to take place at this event.[15] However, the bout was postponed to take place one week later atUFC Fight Night: Font vs. Garbrandt due to a COVID-19 case in Hermansson's camp.[16]
On May 14, it was announced that the UFC would be increasing bonuses (Fight of the Night and Performance of the Night) from $50,000 to $75,000. This increase was for this event only and was made at the request of former interim lightweight championTony Ferguson (alsoThe Ultimate Fighter: Team Lesnar vs. Team dos Santos welterweight winner), who received a raucous response from the audience in attendance at the UFC 262 pre-fight press conference when he made the proposal.[17]
Several hooligans fought in the stands during this event.[18]
| Main card | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight class | Method | Round | Time | Notes | |||
| Lightweight | Charles Oliveira | def. | Michael Chandler | TKO (punches) | 2 | 0:19 | [a] |
| Lightweight | Beneil Dariush | def. | Tony Ferguson | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Catchweight (137 lb) | Rogério Bontorin | vs. | Matt Schnell | No Contest (overturned) | 3 | 5:00 | [b] |
| Women's Flyweight | Katlyn Chookagian | def. | Viviane Araújo | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Featherweight | Edson Barboza | def. | Shane Burgos | KO (punches) | 3 | 1:16 | |
| Preliminary card (ESPN / ESPN+) | |||||||
| Middleweight | André Muniz | def. | Ronaldo Souza | Technical Submission (armbar) | 1 | 3:59 | |
| Featherweight | Lando Vannata | def. | Mike Grundy | Decision (split) (29–28, 27–30, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Middleweight | Jordan Wright | def. | Jamie Pickett | TKO (punches) | 1 | 1:04 | |
| Women's Flyweight | Andrea Lee | def. | Antonina Shevchenko | Submission (triangle armbar) | 2 | 4:52 | |
| Early preliminary card (ESPN+ / UFC Fight Pass) | |||||||
| Women's Flyweight | Priscila Cachoeira | def. | Gina Mazany | TKO (punches) | 2 | 4:51 | |
| Featherweight | Tucker Lutz | def. | Kevin Aguilar | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Lightweight | Christos Giagos | def. | Sean Soriano | Technical Submission (brabo choke) | 2 | 0:59 | |
The following fighters received $75,000 bonuses.[20]
In June 2021, Bontorin was notified byUSADA due to a potential doping violation. He tested positive forhydrochlorothiazide, a banned diuretic, in an out-of-competition urine sample in May 2021.[21] Following notification of his positive test, Bontorin provided open containers of two dietary supplements he obtained from a Brazilian compounding pharmacy that he was using prior to his positive test for analysis by a WADA-accredited laboratory. Although no prohibited substances were listed on the supplement product labels, the analysis revealed the presence of HCTZ in the products. He was given a three month suspension that began on 1 May and his win was overturned to a no contest.[22][23]
