Charles Oliveira had to vacate his lightweight title after missing the weight against Justin Gaethje but that did not stop the Brazilian from earning a submission win over the American at UFC 274.
In a chaotic main event, Oliveria, as is often the case in his recent fights was wobbled by big strikes from Gaethje but found his second win to lock in a rear-naked choke forcing Justin to tap out at 3:22 in the opening round.
It was Oliveira who looked to set the tone early with a punch that blasted Gaethje and put him on wobbly legs right away but that early success backfired in a hurry.
With Oliveira surging, Gaethje turned to calf kicks and heavy shots up top to find an opening.
That’s when Gaethje connected with a stiff right uppercut that dropped Oliveira to the canvas but the former interim lightweight champion didn’t want to go to the ground with the noted submission specialist.
It was back on the feet when another hard right hook snapped Oliviera’s head around and put him back on the ground again but Gaethje still had no desire to play with fire by testing his grappling against the Brazilian.
The lightweights continued trading blows but Oliveira started to connect with better accuracy as Gaethje was winging huge, wild shots as he attempted to score the knockout.
With Gaethje on his heels, Oliveira unloaded a massive straight punch that floored the Arizona native and slumped him down to the ground.
Unlike his opponent, Oliveira immediately jumped on the opportunity to go to the canvas as he quickly took the back and began looking for the finish. While Gaethje tried to slip free, Oliveira was just too quick as he eventually got control and slipped his arm under the chin to secure the submission.
Gaethje did his best to fight the hands but once Oliveira had the choke locked, there was no escape.
Even with the win, the title remains vacant as Justin was the only one who could win the best.
Oliveria now becomes the number 1 contender and improves his record to 10 straight wins.
In another fight at UFC 274, Carla Esparza (20-6) dethroned Rose Namajunas (12-5) of the strawweight title eight years after losing it via split decision.
The highlight of the card came during a lightweight clash between Michael Chandler and Tony Ferguson.
Chandler (23-7) sent roars echoing off the rafters by dropping Ferguson (26-8) with a front kick to the head in the second round leaving Ferguson laying on the canvas for several minutes while being attended to by medical personnel before slowly rising to his stool.
