The fight will take place as part of the UFC 274 tournament.
The fight will take place on May 8 in Phoenix (Arizona, USA) at the Footprint Center and will be one of the main ones at the UFC 274 tournament. The estimated start of the fight is 06:00 Kyiv time. The fight will be broadcast live on Setanta Sports.
A very interesting lightweight fight will take place on the main card of the tournament. #5 ranked Michael Chandler (22-7) will take on #7 Tony Ferguson (25-6).
Former Bellator lightweight champion Chandler has three fights in 2021. In January, he made his UFC debut with a quick knockout victory over Dan Hooker. In May, Michael failed to win the vacant title, being finished by blows in the second round by Charles Oliveira. And in November, Chandler in the “Fight of the Year” lost on points to Justin Gaethje.
Former Interim UFC Lightweight Champion Ferguson needs a win just as much. The veteran went undefeated for nearly three years, losing all three of his last fights. From May 2020 to May 2021, El Cucuy was finished by strikes by Justin Gati and lost by decision to Charles Oliveira and Beneil Dariush.
Prediction for the fight
Obviously, Ferguson’s best years are behind him. Ferguson has a solid height advantage over his opponent, he was once very dangerous and unpredictable both on the stand and on the ground, but now he is only a pale shadow of that Tony Ferguson.
Chandler can take advantage of the holes in Ferguson’s takedown defense and try to get him on the ground. But still, the basic wrestler Chandler in the cage prefers to fight in the rack. We believe that Chandler will act aggressively and win confidently due to this. We do not even rule out that one of Chandler’s powerful blows can knock out the traditionally persistent Ferguson. After the beating of Gaethje, Ferguson’s “hold” is already in question.
Chandler wins by knockout in the 2nd round
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