Michael Chandler vs. Tony Ferguson is well on its way. UFC announced on Friday that Chandler vs. Ferguson is on for UFC 274 on Saturday, May 7. Multiple outlets reported on Thursday that the fight was in the works. The card is set to take place from the Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona, with 155-pound champion Charles Oliveira battling Justin Gaethje in the main event.
UFC announced on Friday that Chandler vs. Ferguson is on for UFC 274 on Saturday, May 7
Competing in the same weight class as the headliner potentially opens the door for Chandler and Ferguson to serve as backups in the event that Oliveira or Gaethje are forced out of the fight. UFC president Dana White has eyed a fight between Chandler and Ferguson for months.
"I think my biggest advantage, I think I'm just basic and I'm going to keep a high pace, which we know Tony can keep a high pace, but I think it's going to be a little bit sharper," Chandler previously told CBS Sports. "I think I think my power is going to be a lot for him. I think I'm going to have a speed advantage and an athleticism advantage. I think I'm good in all the areas that Tony is good. I think he's got very slick jiu-jitsu. I have yet to ever be caught in a submission, so I don't see Tony catching me in anything like that. But he is very dangerous on the ground."
Chandler (22-7) has had mixed success since jumping from Bellator MMA to UFC, but he was immediately thrown into the deep end. The former three-time Bellator lightweight champion signed with UFC as an alternate for the lightweight title fight between champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and Gaethje. He made an emphatic UFC debut by defeating Dan Hooker via first-round TKO. He challenged for the vacant UFC lightweight title in his second fight for the promotion, losing to Oliveira. Chandler is coming off CBS Sports' Fight of the Year against Gaethje at UFC 268.
Ferguson (25-6) is experiencing his own rough stretch. The former UFC interim lightweight champion enters the Chandler fight on his first career losing streak, snapping his career-best 12-fight winning streak. The Chandler fight follows losses to Gaethje, Oliveira and Beneil Dariush. At his prime, Ferguson was considered the biggest threat to Nurmagomedov's spotless record after defeating the likes of Rafael dos Anjos, Donald Cerrone, Anthony Pettis, Edson Barboza and Josh Thomson.
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