UFC 262 what a night that was. The audience makes the sport more special. Seeing the celebrities and hearing the fan’s reaction are heartwarming moments. UFC 261 was much exciting since, it was the first sport even with full attendance and the fighters were of much higher profile. UFC 262 was a night that history was made and fighters shocking the world. There were not many knockouts, but still the main card was full of surprises. The night started to get interesting when Andre Muniz dislocated Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza arm. That was the last fight of the Prelims. When the main card started everything was fireworks. The fight of Barboza and Burgos was an amazing and scary fight. Ferguson vs Dariush a fight that broke millions of hearts. The main even Oliveira vs Chandler, that fight was the meaning of overcoming adversity and not finishing the job.
Let us start with Jacare vs Andre Muniz. During the fight week Jacare was confident. He should be, he is a great grappler, and he describes himself as an old lion, but still capable of beating the young lions. During the conferences, Andre Muniz said he was a better grappler, and Jacare did not liked that. At the beginning of the fight, you could see Souza fighting with anger and showing that he is the better fighter this night. It even looked that he was winning the first round. Then Andre Ruiz got a hold of him and took him to the floor. Souza’s arm got stuck between the canvas and Muniz’s back. In seconds you could see the arm popping out of place and the fight finishing. You could see Jacare emotions, he was frustrated and disappointed on how the fight ended. That was the end of the prelims.
The first fight of the main card was Barboza vs Burgos. These two gentlemen were showcasing all type of skills. It was a delightful bout. Edson Barboza known for his calf kicks, was throwing them so hard that his right leg started bleeding. Barboza had a right overhand, that was fast and powerful. Is a shame he is already 35 years old. Burgos is a synonym for tough. This fighter has an unbelievable Chin. He got rocked multiple times but refused to go to sleep. In addition, his boxing is in another level. He had an uppercut to the body and a left right hook that had Barboza in trouble multiple times. This fight was pure fireworks. Eventhoug both fighters made an amazing performance, the ending was scary. Barboza through a right hand and hit Burgos. Burgos seemed to have eaten the shot. Seconds later Burgos legs start to give up, and in seconds Burgos was in the floor unconscious. It was a delayed reaction of the body which was extremely scary. He got up and seemed to be fine which wonderful to see. This fight won the bonus of fight of the night
Dariush vs Ferguson the fight that broke hearts. Tony “El Cucuy” Ferguson was once known as the most terrifying opponent in the lightweight division. Know he is in a losing streak of 3 fights. For six year he was unbeaten, named the uncrowned champ and waiting to fight Khabib. This fight hurt because Tony Ferguson is a fighter who never backs down. In the past few fights, he shows that he prefers to die in the octagon than to giving up. Ferguson is a creative fighter and has this personality that mesmerizes you. Is hurtful to see a legend fall.
Dariush is an underrated fighter. He is technical and dangerous on the feet. His takedown is timed properly and his size for the lightweight division is just absurd. Beneil Dariush is know a contender for the title.
This fight was one sided. Dariush dominated the entire fight. He did not end the fight but dominated. He had Tony Ferguson in a heel hook and stated that he heard Tony’s knee popping loud. Tony did not tap (this shows the heart of Tony Ferguson). Dariush was suffocating his opponent on the floor. He did not do much damage, but there was no doubt who was winning the match. Dariush showed how technical he is and how dangerous he can be. Was a great performance by him.
The main event of the evening Charles Oliveira vs Michael Chandler. In my last post, I selected Chandler to win. As you may know, I was wrong. Chandler dropped Oliveira in the first round and had him in trouble. They even almost stopped the fight. Chandler had was of seconds of finishing the fight and becoming the 11 UFC champion of the lightweight division. He did not finish the job. He let go and could not finish the job. The second round starts and Oliveira instead of waiting for Chandler, he marches forward and started throwing punches. He threw a left hook and dropped Chandler. Chandler got up tried to move away but got clipped again and Oliveira was crowned as the new lightweight Champion. This was a great fight, because during fight week Chandler said that Oliveira will feel his power and back up. Oliveira did the opposite; he took the risk and ripped the rewards. Oliveira in his performance shut down all type of criticism about not having heart or been a quitter. He showed he is the champ.
