Charles Oliveira may not be the UFC Lightweight Champion, but there is no doubt who is the best lightweight champion on the planet. Oliveira defeated Justin Getgee in a violent sugar rush at UFC 274 on Saturday night.
Things, as usual during this lightweight title campaign, didn’t look good for Oliveira early on. Gaethje dropped Oliveira on two occasions in the opening round: first with a right top hook and then with a left hook. “The Highlight” was careful not to deal with Oliveira on the ground and welcomed him on his feet. Ghaithji’s unwillingness to commit to the land and the pound led to his eventual death. Oliveira found his approval and responded with relentless pressure. Boxing, knees, flying knees and front jumping. “Do Bronx” found the right hand home on which Gaethje sits. Oliveira immediately rotated his net on the ground, going from a naked rear throttle to a boom rod to a triangle rod before sinking into a naked rear throttle forcing Gaethje to click.
UFC President Dana White was notably absent from the octagon for his traditional role of tying the UFC title around a winner’s waist. Oliveira, the reigning Ultimate Lightweight Championship title holder at the start of the week, was stripped of his belt after losing half a pound of weight. Rumors spread from several fighters this week that inaccurate measures given to fighters beforehand contributed to the weight issues. Regardless, Oliveira is no longer the UFC Lightweight Champion but will battle it out for it in his next fight.
“Hey, there is something in here,” Oliveira said during a post-fight interview with the help of an interpreter. “This is a message to the entire department. I’m a problem for the whole department. Look at this team, look at me. I’m enlightened. This is my title. It should be here.”
“Hey Conor McGregor, are you coming or are you running away?”
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Oliveira extended his winning streak to 11 and finished with Gaetje, Dustin Poirier, Michael Chandler, Kevin Lee and many more during that time. The only small flaw – if you can call it that – is the apparent unanimous decision to beat Tony Ferguson in December 2020.
White later confirmed that Oliveira would fight for the title on his next tour. White has no doubt that Oliveira is the uncrowned champion of the division. Unfortunately, the rules are the rules.
“He’s the guy,” White told reporters at a post-match news conference at UFC 274. “He had no weight. We have rules. He had no weight. The belt is vacant but I’m sure in the minds of the media and fight fans, Oliveira is the champ. But technically, he is. The number one contender now.”
Elsewhere, Carla Esparza reclaimed the women’s strawweight title after nearly eight years at the top of the mountain. “Cookie Monster” took Rose Namajunas in two of the three judges’ scorecards to take the belt she won for the first time in 2014. In addition, Michael Chandler gave fans one of the most brutal kicks in recent memory with his fore kick from Tony Ferguson .
CBS Sports was with you all the way on Saturday bringing you all the results and highlights from UFC 274 below.
UFC 274 card and results
- Charles Oliveira defeated. Justin Gethje via first round submission (naked rear throttle)
- Carla Esparza defeated. Rose Namagunas (c) via split decision (47-48, 49-46, 48-47)
- Michael Chandler Def. Tony Ferguson Knockout in the second round (forward kick)
- Ovince Saint Preux def. Mauricio Roa via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 30-27)
- Randy Brown def. Khaus Williams via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Francisco Trinaldo def. Danny Roberts by unanimous decision (29-28, 30-26, 30-27)
- Missy Chiason defeated. Norma Dumont via split decision (30-27, 28-29, 30-27)
- Brandon Royval def. Matt Schnell via first round submission (guillotine choke)
- Blagoy dev Ivanov. Marcos Rogerio de Lima by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Andre Fialo def. Cameron VanCamp via TKO first round (punches)
- Tracy Cortez defeated. Melissa Gatto by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- CJ Vergara def. Cledison Rodriguez via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Loopy Godinez def. Ariane Carnelosi by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-26)
- Newson’s Journey def. Fernie Garcia by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
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