UFC Fight Night: Oliveira vs Chandler Predictions, Odds & Picks

• The UFC will once again take place in front of a live audience as Charles Oliveira and Michael Chandler battle for the vacant lightweight title in front of a capacity crowd at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas
• Lightweight fighters also make up the co-main event as former interim lightweight champion Tony Ferguson squares off with rising rising top-contender Beneil Dariush
• Two main card fights were pulled from this card as Leon Edwards vs Nate Diaz was moved to UFC 263 and Jack Hermansson vs Edmen Shahbazyan had to be moved to next week’s Fight Night event

UFC 262: Oliveira vs Chandler

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UFC 262: Oliveira vs Chandler – Picks & Predictions

Charles Oliveira vs Michael Chandler – Lightweight Championship

Charles Oliveira (-130)

Tony Ferguson vs Beneil Dariush Division

Tony Ferguson (+145)

Katlyn Chookagian vs Viviane Araujo – Women’s Flyweight Division

Katlyn Chookagian (-140)

Shane Burgos vs Edson Barboza – Featherweight Division

Edson Barboza (+115)

Matt Schnell vs Rogerio Bontorin – Bantamweight Division

Matt Schnell (-160)

How to Watch UFC 262: Oliveira vs Chandler

Charles Oliveira vs Michael Chandler – Lightweight Championship

Charles “Do Bronx” Oliveira

Despite all of his success in the octagon, Charles Oliveira has had much of his career overshadowed by larger-than-life personas in what is possibly the UFC’s most cutthroat division. While stars like Conor McGregor, Dustin Poirier, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Justin Gaethje, et al were making all the noise, Charles Oliveira quietly put together an eight-fight winning streak, which included his most recent and dominant win over former interim lightweight champion Tony Ferguson last December.

The way Oliveira dominated Ferguson as no one had ever seen solidified him as the next clear-cut title challenger.

Not only is Oliveira riding the impressive win streak, but over the course of his career, “Do Bronx” holds the record for most submission wins in the UFC, the most performance of the night bonuses, and is tied with Donald Cerrone for the most bonuses of any kind.

Born in Brazil, Oliveira spent much of the first half of his UFC career in the featherweight division before moving up to lightweight in 2017.

With all the success he’s had, Oliveira is still just 31-years of age – four years younger than his opponent this Saturday night. He will also have a two-inch height and three-inch reach advantage over Michael Chandler.

Starting his fighting career in 2008, Oliveira currently trains with the Chute Boxe Diego Lima team and holds a third-degree black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. It’s safe to say that if wrestler Michael Chandler goes in for the takedown, Oliveira will be ready.

He enters this fight ranked third in the lightweight division.

“Iron” Michael Chandler

Michael Chandler made his UFC debut this past January and did so in an emphatic fashion. Taking on the much taller Dan Hooker, Chandler impressed everyone when he opted to stand and strike with Hooker, defeating him via TKO in the first round.

Prior to signing with the UFC, Chandler was a staple of Bellator, where he held the lightweight title on three separate occasions. He holds notable wins in Bellator over two former UFC lightweight champions: Benson Henderson and Eddie Alvarez.

Known mostly for his grappling, Chandler boasts NCAA Division I wrestling credentials. He currently trains out of Florida with the Sanford MMA gym. He has been fighting professionally since 2009 and actually started his MMA career as a welterweight.

Chandler enters his second UFC fight ranked number-four in the lightweight division.

Tony Ferguson vs Beneil Dariush – Lightweight Division

Tony “El Cucuy” Ferguson

Tony Ferguson had one of the longest winning streaks in UFC history from 2013 to 2019 – a stretch that saw him win 12-fights in a row. Throughout that streak, Ferguson beat top competition such as Edson Barboza, Anthony Pettis, and Rafael dos Anjos. He even won the interim lightweight title during that time.

Ferguson’s winning streak was finally snapped in another interim lightweight title fight against Justin Gaethje. The fight took place at UFC 249 last May and Ferguson lost the fight via fifth-round TKO.

His most recent fight came against Charles Oliveira at UFC 256 last November. For the first time in his career, Ferguson lost his second fight in a row as Oliveira dominated him and was awarded the unanimous decision victory.

Known for his unorthodox style and training routines, Ferguson mostly trains at his own gym and works with coaches such as Eddie Bravo, Rashad Holloway, and Billy Fonua. He holds a black belt in 10th Planet jiu-jitsu under Eddie Bravo himself.

Ferguson has been fighting professionally since 2008 and boasts NCWA wrestling credentials. Tony enters this fight ranked as the fifth-best lightweight in the division.

He will have a 4.5-inch reach advantage over his opponent.

Beneil Dariush

Beneil Dariush a rising threat in the lightweight division and currently finds himself on a winning streak half as impressive as Tony Ferguson’s: six in a row, with three performance of the night bonuses, sprinkled in.

After a unanimous decision win over Thiago Moises, Dariush won back-to-back fights via submission and the next two back-to-back via knockout.

His most recent fight took place earlier this year in February against Carlos Diego Ferreira, whom Dariush defeated by a close split decision.

The American fighter is known for his grappling and holds a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under Romulo Barral and Bruno Paulista and has three World Jiu-Jitsu Championship silver medals. He also has a black belt in muay Thai under Rafael Cordeiro.

Dariush has been fighting since 2009 and is currently ranked ninth in the UFC lightweight division.

He is five years younger than Tony Ferguson.

Katlyn Chookagian vs Viviane Araujo – Women’s Flyweight Division

Katlyn “Blonde Fighter” Chookagian

After losing her title fight against flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko in early 2020, Katlyn Chookagian got right back on the horse by defeating Antonina Shevchenko – the champion’s sister.

She was unceremoniously defeated by Jessica Andrade via TKO in her next bout but followed that loss with a very impressive unanimous decision victory over Cynthia Calvillo at UFC 255 last November.

The American-born fighter has been fighting since 2012 and is tied with champion Valentina Shevchenko for the most wins in the women’s flyweight division – where she is ranked as the second-best. She also sits ranked as the tenth-best pound-for-pound women’s fighter.

She currently trains with the Renzo Gracie Combat Team and holds a brown belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under Renzo Gracie himself.

Chookagian will have a four-inch height advantage when she steps into the cage Saturday night.

Viviane “Vivi” Araujo

Since signing with the UFC in 2019, Viviane Araujo has put together a promotional record of 4-1. She won her first two UFC bouts before suffering a unanimous decision loss to Jessica Eye.

Araujo then went one to win her next two-straight, including her most recent unanimous decision win over Roxanne Modafferi this past January.

The Brazilian trains with Cerrado MMA as well as Companhia Athletica. She has been fighting since 2015 and holds a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu as well as a brown belt in luta livre.

She sits just outside the top-five rankings of the flyweight division as number seven.

Shane Burgos vs Edson Barboza – Featherweight Division

Shane “Hurricane” Burgos

Shane Burgos joined the UFC as an undefeated fighter in 2016. He won his first three fights for the promotion before suffering a TKO loss at the hands of Calvin Kattar in 2018.

Burgos went on a second three-fight winning streak after that, defeating the likes of Cub Swanson and Makwan Amirkhani.

Burgos hasn’t fought since his fight of the night unanimous decision loss to Josh Emmett last June. It was the third fight of his eight-fight UFC career to be named fight of the night.

The American fighter trains out of New York with the Tiger Schulmann team, with whom he holds a black belt in Tiger Schulmann MMA.

Fighting since 2013, Shane Burgos is currently ranked as the ninth-best in what is a very competitive featherweight division.

He is five years younger than his opponent.

Edson Barboza

A former lightweight, Edson Barboza went 1-4 over his last five fights in the division before making the weight cut to 145-pounds. He made his featherweight debut in 2020 against Dan Ige but was ultimately defeated via split-decision.

He bounced back in his most recent fight, earning his first win as a featherweight over Makwan Amirkhani last October. We won the bout via unanimous decision.

The Brazilian fighter is a striking highlight reel, having seven-fight-of-the-night bonuses to his name as well as a 2012 award for knockout of the year.

He currently spends his time training with Ricardo Almeida BJJ and American Top Team under coaches Anderson Franca, Mark Henry, and Ricardo Almeida.

Fighting since 2009, Barboza holds a black prajied in muay thai, a black belt in taekwondo, and a brown belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

He will be at a half-inch reach disadvantage but carries with him significantly more octagon experience than his opponent.

Matt Schnell vs Rogerio Bontorin – Bantamweight Division

Matt “Danger” Schnell

Matt Schnell has put together a promotional record of 5-3 since joining the UFC. After making his debut on the Ultimate Fighter, Schnell lost his first two UFC fights before racking up a four-fight winning streak.

That streak was snapped in 2019 due to a knockout courtesy of Alexandre Pantoja but Schnell bounced back from the loss in his most recent appearance. This past January, Schnell fought Tyson Nam. Although a close fight, it was Matt Schnell who was awarded the split-decision victory.

Schnell will enter the octagon Saturday with the most physical advantages. He will stand three inches taller than his opponent and will have a 5.5-inch reach advantage well.

Schnell currently trains with both the American Kickboxing Academy as well as the Combat Sports Academy. He holds a black belt in karate and a purple belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

Fighting professionally since 2009, Schnell is currently ranked as the eighth-best bantamweight in the division.

Rogerio Bontorin

After appearing on and winning his bout on the Dana White Contender Series, Rogerio Bontorin began his UFC career with back-to-back wins. However, he has struggled as of late. He had his winning streak snapped by Ray Borg last February and went on to lose his second fight in a row to Kai Kara-France via first-round knockout this past March.

Bontorin is actually a flyweight who is currently ranked as the ninth-best in the division. He is stepping into this fight on short notice, replacing Alex Perez, who was pulled for undisclosed reasons.

The Brazilian fighter trains with both the Gile Ribeiro Team and Team Noguchi. Fighting since 2013, he holds a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

He is two years younger than his opponent this Saturday.