This Saturday night, the UFC returns to pay-per-view with a fascinating UFC 262 card in Houston, Texas.
It’ll mark the second straight PPV with a full house of fans in attendance, a very welcome development for the promotion after an extremely tough past year.
As we look up and down the card it’s clear to see there are some stand out fights and we’re going to delve a little deeper into the storylines behind them.
The Bellator invader
Eddie Alvarez did it, and now Michael Chandler is ready to ascend to the top of the mountain.
In the blink of an eye ‘Iron Mike’ has vaulted himself to the top of the lightweight division and if he beats Charles Oliveira on Saturday, he’ll win the belt and he’ll prove again that Bellator has some legitimate talent within their ranks.
Oliveira – unknown to champion?
When Charles Oliveira debuted in the UFC back in August 2010, Brock Lesnar was the UFC heavyweight champion.
That just shows you what a journey ‘Do Bronx’ has been on, and it also highlights why he’s such a fan favourite. From his submissions to his improved striking, this man isn’t one to be taken lightly.
El Cucuy’s last stand
After losing to Justin Gaethje and Charles Oliveira, the once-great Tony Ferguson stands on the edge of a steep decline.
The warrior known as ‘El Cucuy’ has been able to strike fear into the hearts of lightweights for the better part of a decade in the UFC. However, if he loses to Beneil Dariush, his days could be numbered.
The Texas judges
Every single time a big combat sports event goes down in Texas, we seem to get a questionable decision or two.
The last one of note came when Jon Jones “beat” Dominick Reyes at UFC 247 even though the majority of fans scored it differently. Hopefully nothing similar happens at the weekend, but keep your eyes peeled.
McGregor & Poirier
The winner of Oliveira vs Chandler will not only become UFC lightweight champion, but there’s also a good chance they’ll defend the belt against the winner of Conor McGregor vs Dustin Poirier 3.
With that in mind, you can bet both men will be getting plenty of mentions on what is bound to be a night of high stakes and high drama.
Featured image credit: Getty