UFC news takeaways: Oliveira-Chandler booked, Dillashaw to make return

There was a major news dump in the MMA world Thursday night.

UFC president Dana White confirmed Khabib Nurmagomedov's retirement, Charles Oliveira versus Michael Chandler was scheduled as the vacant lightweight title fight at UFC 262 on May 15, TJ Dillashaw was booked to return against Cory Sandhagen on May 8, and a bantamweight bout between Cody Garbrandt and Rob Font was slated for May 22.

Here are five takeaways from these developments.

Oliveira gets his well-deserved shot

Oliveira left no doubt that he deserved a title shot after he dominated former interim champion Tony Ferguson at UFC 256. It was his eighth straight victory, and he beat a guy who was riding a 12-fight winning streak at the beginning of 2020.

Shortly thereafter, Dustin Poirier evened the score with Conor McGregor, Chandler made a statement against Dan Hooker, and White continued his efforts to get lightweight champ Nurmagomedov out of retirement. The division was a mess, and it felt like the less popular Oliveira would be the odd man out and forced to fight someone lower in the rankings.

But to the surprise of many, Oliveira is one of two men who will vie for the vacant title after Nurmagomedov officially surrendered his belt.

From a competitive standpoint, this was absolutely the right call. Oliveira may not have as big of a name as McGregor, Poirier, or Justin Gaethje, but he's clearly one of the best lightweights on the planet and the second-most deserving contender after Poirier. (More on that later.) Oliveira has made his recent wins look easy; no one has beaten Ferguson like he did. After more than 10 years in the UFC, "Do Bronx" will finally get his shot at gold - and rightfully so.

Beating McGregor is bigger than the title

When Oliveira-Chandler was booked as the vacant title fight, it would've been fair to ask, "Where the hell is Dustin Poirier?"

After all, Poirier is the No. 1-ranked lightweight and has the strongest case for a title shot with wins against the likes of McGregor, Hooker, Max Holloway, and Gaethje over the past three years. His only loss since 2016 came against Nurmagomedov, and everyone loses to Nurmagomedov. The best guy after him - at least on paper - is clearly Poirier.

But money fights are a real thing these days, and Poirier appears to be prioritizing them. He's in talks to face McGregor for a third time later in 2021 after finishing him at UFC 257 in January. That's a great move for Poirier for multiple reasons: It's obviously a winnable fight, and beating the former two-division champion again would only further increase his stock.

There's no doubt that Poirier would've been fighting for the title next if that's what he wanted. He has done more than enough. But presumably, he's fine with waiting for the post-Nurmagomedov belt, which will lack credibility in some fans' eyes. The trilogy fight is an opportunity Poirier simply can't refuse, which goes to show that beating McGregor is more valuable than winning the lightweight title.

Lightweight back in business

Can we take a moment to appreciate that the lightweight division can finally move forward now that White has realized Nurmagomedov isn't coming back?

The promotion's best weight class has been in disarray since Nurmagomedov retired in October, largely because White wanted to book the Russian for one more fight despite Nurmagomedov clearly not being interested. Poirier-McGregor 2 could have been for the vacant title and all would've been well, but White insisted on pursuing something that wasn't there.

The UFC president threw in the towel Thursday, so normalcy in the division can be restored. Oliveira-Chandler is a stellar matchup to crown a new champion, Poirier-McGregor 3 will likely determine the next title challenger, and others like Gaethje, Rafael dos Anjos, Ferguson, and Islam Makhachev will fight it out in hopes of moving into the title picture.

Lightweight is officially back in business after reaching something of a standstill, and the rest of 2021 is shaping up to be a great stretch for the division.

No tuneup fight for Dillashaw

Dillashaw is jumping right back into the deep end at bantamweight.

The former champion is set to face Sandhagen, the No. 2-ranked contender who's widely considered the future of the division, in his first fight since January 2019. Dillashaw has been out of action since he tested positive for recombinant human erythropoietin (EPO), which resulted in a two-year USADA suspension.

Dillashaw certainly wouldn't have deserved an immediate title shot upon his return, but it's good that the UFC is giving him a tough test right out of the gate. He never lost the title in the Octagon during his most recent reign, so there's no need to give him a layup, even after a two-year layoff. Sandhagen is a great measuring stick - we'll find out if Dillashaw is still a title contender or if he's dropped off a bit.

The UFC is wasting no time in determining Dillashaw's ceiling, and that's the way it should be; if he wins, he'll be next in line to face the winner of Aljamain Sterling-Petr Yan 2.

Garbrandt right to stay at 135 pounds

Garbrandt, a former bantamweight champion, was scheduled to make his flyweight debut last year against champ Deiveson Figueiredo before lingering COVID-19 symptoms took him out of the fight.

Now, Garbrandt has apparently decided to stay at 135 pounds, as he's scheduled to face Font in a UFC Fight Night main event, and that's the right call.

There's no need for Garbrandt to try his hand at flyweight. He's back in the winning column and could be close to a bantamweight title shot if he beats Font. There are plenty of big fights left for him at 135 pounds.

Also, there's no guarantee that Garbrandt would be able to safely make 125 pounds, much less find success in the division. Dillashaw made weight for his flyweight debut in 2019, but he suffered a quick TKO loss to Henry Cejudo, and some people believe the drastic weight cut hurt his performance.

It's possible that Garbrandt is only delaying his plans to go to flyweight with Figueiredo expected to rematch Brandon Moreno in June following their "Fight of the Year" candidate in late 2020. If he is still planning the move, hopefully, the Font fight will convince him to stay at bantamweight for good, because that's the right weight class for him.