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Oliveira TKOs Chandler to win UFC lightweight title

Josh Hedges / UFC / Getty

Charles Oliveira is the new UFC lightweight champion.

Oliveira finished Michael Chandler via TKO at the 0:19 mark of the second round in the UFC 262 main event Saturday night at Toyota Center in Houston to win the vacant 155-pound title.

"I told you I was going to knock him out, and I came and knocked him out," Oliveira said in his postfight interview through an interpreter. "I'm proving to everybody that I'm the lion of lions."

With the victory, Oliveira now has the most finishes in UFC history (17). He was previously tied with Donald Cerrone.

The finishing sequence began when Oliveira dropped Chandler with a left hook. He then attacked his opponent with a barrage of strikes and dropped him again with another left hand. Oliveira hammered Chandler with punches up against the cage until the referee stepped in.

The title fight was wild from start to finish. Chandler tagged Oliveira early in the first round and attempted to choke him out with a guillotine, but Oliveira escaped and took his back. Chandler fended off the rear-naked choke well and returned to his feet.

Later in the frame, Chandler rocked Oliveira and nearly finished him with ground-and-pound.

But Oliveira pulled off somewhat of a comeback and crumpled Chandler in the opening moments of the second stanza. He knocked down Chandler six seconds into the round and followed up with a few punches, a knee, and an elbow before putting him down for good with a left hook.

Chandler gave Oliveira props for the knockout victory in his postfight interview but said he plans to become the UFC lightweight champion within the next 12 months.

"I think we saw one of the toughest dudes on the planet come back from some adversity," Chandler said. "Charles Oliveira is the real deal. Listen, I take nothing away from him."

He added that he expects to face Oliveira again in the future.

"We'll get this one back," Chandler said. "We're going to run this one back eventually."

Oliveira took the long road to UFC gold. He captured the belt in his 28th Octagon appearance, the latest into a career of any first-time UFC champion, according to MMA Junkie's Mike Bohn. The 31-year-old made his debut in the promotion in 2010.

"Do Bronx" has reached his full potential since moving up to the lightweight division in 2017, putting together a 10-1 record. He was a contender in the featherweight division for years, but he was 1-3 in his past four outings when he moved up in weight.

Oliveira earned the vacant title shot by dominating former interim champion Tony Ferguson in December, which moved him to No. 3 in the lightweight rankings. He extended his winning streak to nine against Chandler. The Brazilian hasn't lost since a stoppage defeat to Paul Felder in 2017.

Chandler, who was ranked No. 4 ahead of the bout, fell to 1-1 in the UFC. He made his long-awaited debut in January and stunned Dan Hooker with a first-round knockout.

"Iron" joined the UFC in 2020 after almost 10 years in Bellator, where he held the lightweight belt on three separate occasions. This was his first defeat since a knockout loss to Patricio Freire in May 2019. Chandler was riding a three-fight winning streak.

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