Oliveira came in a half-pound over the 155 limit. If he wins Saturday night, he will be the No. 1 contender and get a shot at winning the title back in his next fight.
The Brazilian will likely need to dig deep again against Justin Gaethje, one of the most aggressive fighters in any weight class. The fight with Gaethje will be Oliveira’s second since taking the lightweight title from Chandler a year ago. Oliveira was wobbled by Chandler before knocking him out in the second round and had some similar shaky moments against Poirier in December before submitting him in the third round for his 10th straight win.
Gaethje won the interim lightweight title by pummeling Ferguson in 2020, but lost the title to Khabib Nurmagomedov in a second-round submittal later that year. Gaethje, from Safford in eastern Arizona, moved up to the No. 1 contender in the lightweight class with a unanimous decision over Chandler in November.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.