On Saturday, May 15, the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas will host UFC 262 and MMA fans across the world can’t wait for the big event to arrive. There will be several big showdowns, including the one between Charles Oliveira and Michael Chandler. In this piece, we have our UFC 262 picks for Oliveira vs. Chandler and so much more. Read on to find out who we like.
The main event in this bad boy is obvious and Charles Oliveira is a slight favorite to beat Michael Chandler. Should that happen, it’d obviously be a massive victory for Oliveira, as he continues to make noise in the lightweight division. Entering UFC 262, Oliveira has a record of 30-8-0. He may not be the biggest guy in the world, but he punches with power, no doubt.
Leading into UFC 262, Oliveira indeed is the favorite, as he holds -130 UFC odds to take down Chandler. Meanwhile for Chandler, he’s been given even odds via the Las Vegas sportsbooks to win this one. From our chair, this is really going to be a pretty darn close fight. So, who will win?
| UFC 262 odds |  |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oliveria to win | -130 | -130 | -130 | -130 |
| Chandler to win | Even | Even | Even | Even |
| Ferguson to win | +115 | +115 | +115 | +115 |
| Dariush to win | -145 | -145 | -145 | -145 |
Call it an upset, but we think that Chandler will be able to get the job done. For his career, Chandler is 22-5-0, with his last victory coming at UFC 257. In that matchup, he went head to head with Dan Hooker and was able to take him down via an impressive TKO. That knockout came in the first round of that fight, only making things that more exciting for Chandler.
Oliveira won’t go down without a brawl, though, and he’ll be ready to do whatever is needed to record another impressive win. While he’s the favorite and it most definitely wouldn’t be a shocker if he ended up winning this one, we’re going with Chandler as our pick.
A big question leading up to UFC 262 is will Tony Ferguson be able to defeat Beneil Dariush? This is listed as the co-main event and it’s sure to be one of the best fights of the night. Whenever Ferguson enters the octagon, an entertaining matchup ensues. There could be plenty of blood spilled in his fight with Dariush, which the fans would no question love to see.
Ferguson will have a chip on his shoulder entering this fight, as he’s been listed as the underdog. For UFC 262, Ferguson holds +115 odds, while Dariush is the favorite at -145. This sure feels interesting, but you can’t blame Dariush for this. He’s been sensational in his fights as well and is expected to come out with plenty of fire and passion as well.
At UFC Fight Night in early February, Dariush was able to take down Carlos Diego Ferreira via a decision. With that victory, it improved his record to 20-4-1. Now, he’ll look to capture the 21st win of his UFC career when he squares up against Ferguson.
Ferguson is 26-5-0, with his last fight coming at UFC 256 against Charles Oliveira. Ferguson lost that fight via a decision. He lost his previous fight to Justin Gaethje as well. While this one should be close, our pick is to go against Ferguson and rock with Dariush. He’ll prove to be too much for Ferguson to handle.
Unfortunately for fans out there, the Nate Diaz UFC return has been pushed back and he’ll no longer be ready to go for UFC 262. He was originally scheduled to fight in Houston later this month, but UFC announced that Diaz will fight in UFC 263 instead.
Diaz, who is ready to make a loud return to the octagon, has been dealing with a minor injury. There was plenty of concern that he may not be fully fit for UFC 262, which is why the tough decision was made to delay things. However, this will only add to the strong anticipation for fans.
Diaz hasn’t been in a UFC fight since November of 2019 when he went up against Jorge Masvidal at UFC 244. That one ended in dramatic fashion, as it was determined that his eye was too injured for him to continue. Diaz was understandably upset and so was Masvidal, as they wanted to put on a show for everyone on hand.
Diaz is best known for his fights going up against Conor McGregor, but he’s pure entertainment whenever he’s in action. Although it would have been great to see him go to war at UFC 262, you better believe he’ll be motivated to do even more damage in June when UFC 263 arrives.
See below the top sportsbooks, like BetUS, where you can wager online and choose the best one for you:
