The PPV portion of UFC 274 started a bit slow, but that was all put to bed when Tony Ferguson and Michael Chandler made the walk. They are both fighters who aren't capable of being in a boring fight and this is when the card really started to feel like something. This was a pretty interesting and exciting fight to watch for as long as it lasted. I'm not sure exactly what this fight means in the grand scheme of the division, but we'll discuss that as we go. This was a fun fight and while I didn't like the matchup for Tony coming in, I'm glad this fight happened and I have mostly positive things to say coming out of it.
The fight was pretty short, so the performance analysis part will be on the short side for these, but that comes with the territory sometimes. For the most part, we kind of saw what we expected to see out of Michael Chandler. He relies on his incredible athleticism and uses it in short, explosive bursts rather than providing a consistent pace of attack. That is largely what we saw. Chandler was a step behind Tony on the feet in the early going and it seemed like he was a little too committed to landing only a big power shot instead of looking to just land something. That led to him absorbing some shots without really landing too much of his own and he eventually got dropped, which also falls into the category of things we expected to see. Chandler gets hurt in a lot of his fights these days, but he usually finds a way to fight through it, at least for a little bit. He popped right back up this time, so I don't think it damaged him too bad. Not too long after that is when Chandler turned to his wrestling and got the takedown. He was able to land some pretty nice shots while on top, but he also absorbed some solid elbows. He had, I think, over 2 minutes of control time though, so that left us with a pretty even first round. Tony controlled the first half of the round on the feet and got the knockdown, while Chandler controlled the second half of the round from the top and landed some ground and pound. In the opening exchange of the second round, Chandler landed a front kick up the middle right on Tony's chin and put him out cold. That was easily the worst knockout of Tony's career and it was a bad one. Ferguson stood in front of Gaethje for almost 25 minutes and even though the fight was stopped, Tony still never even went down. This kick had Tony out and he stayed out for several minutes in a scary way. It is only a testament to the power Chandler possesses and he was able to land the kick perfectly. All things considered, it was a pretty good night for him and now that he's back in the win column, he can look to make another push towards the belt.
Chandler came into the fight ranked number 5 in the lightweight division and I'm not sure if this win will move him or not. I think he could jump ahead of Beneil Dariush for the number 4 spot, but I don't think he surpasses Islam Makhachev. Michael Chandler is such an exciting fighter and carries real name value at this point, so I think he has a decent amount of options. The last we heard, Dana seemed like he still wanted to do Islam vs Dariush to determine the number one contender (which is now the number two contender since Charles Oliveira is technically the number one contender and not the champion, but that is more semantics than anything). It isn't really clear if that is still the plan or how that is going to go, but I don't know what would have changed anything on that front. If it isn't, I imagine Islam would actually get the title shot against Oliveira, which leaves Dariush in need of an opponent. While Chandler vs Dariush would be a plenty interesting fight, it just doesn't seem like something that would be the next move for Chandler or the UFC. I think there are more fights for Chandler that would all be higher profile and make a lot more money. I'm not sure where that would leave Dariush, but I don't think that is Chandler's concern. Maybe a matchup with RDA would be the spot for Beneil. The biggest fight that Chandler could get is the biggest fight anyone in MMA can get, which is Conor McGregor. At least in the moment, it seemed like Conor liked the idea himself and I don't blame him. If they can't make the trilogy with Nate Diaz, I think Michael Chandler is probably the biggest fight Conor would be able to get. The matchup itself would seem to make some sense for the both of them as well. Chandler would have the wrestling advantage if he chose to use it, but that is always hit or miss. For Conor, I think he sees Chandler as someone who would strike with him and has a chin that can both be hit and damaged. That would also give Conor someone in the top 5 and could conceivably put him in a position to fight for a title again, depending on how the landscape around the division played out in the mean time. If both men want that fight, I don't see how or why it wouldn't get made. If that isn't the direction that they go in, Chandler is still in a good spot. The other options that I think are the most likely for him would be a rematch with Justin Gaethje or a fight with Dustin Poirier. I know the UFC doesn't typically jump to make rematches so close together that don't involve a title, but if there was ever a time to do it, I think this makes as much sense as any. Chandler vs Gaethje is almost guaranteed to be a great fight and the fans would get behind it even if they ran it back 7 straight times. Dustin Poirier needs a partner and I think Chandler makes as much sense as anyone right now. I don't think Poirier will be fighting Dariush either and that leaves Chandler as the best fresh face for Dustin to fight. They're both fan favorites who would likely be able to headline a PPV even without a title if they had to. This is basically the same argument as the Chandler/Gaethje rematch, except it is a fight that we haven't seen before. None of these are really bad options. I think the Conor fight is the top choice for Chandler right now and then if that doesn't happen, they would move towards the Poirier fight. They can fall back on a Gaethje rematch if they have to and if that is your plan C, then you're in a nice spot. There's really no bad option for Michael Chandler right now and he'll be on a PPV whenever he decides he's ready to make the walk again.
Tony Ferguson is in a much tougher position. As for what he did in the cage, I thought this was actually the best version of Tony that we had seen in a few fights. He had real success early on and then he was taken down again. Even though he ended up on the bottom, he was fighting back with more urgency and fire than we had seen from him against Oliveira or Dariush. I thought all of that was a good sign for where Tony was at and then get slept in the worst way. Even though he was clearly declining, I didn't think we were in a spot where we would see Tony out cold like that, but here we are. I wouldn't take this as a sign that Tony's chin is gone, but that is certainly the kind of knockout that could change someone. That makes for three losses in a row now as well. Two very dominant victories over him and then one of the most devastating knockouts in recent memory. Tony also wasn't really talking like someone who planned on being around for a really long time all fight week. Tony was very vocal in speaking out against fighter pay and the way he has been treated over the years. Ferguson certainly marches to the beat of his own drum, but I think even he realizes that he probably won't stick very long if he's going to be that critical of the promotion and isn't winning fights. Maybe all of that was intentional and he knew this was his last fight before all of that was even said. It is hard to say exactly and getting inside the head of Tony Ferguson of all people isn't the easiest thing to do. Hopefully Tony is doing well and will be able to go on with his career in whatever way he wants or desires to.
If Tony does want to continue his career and does so in the UFC, there are still options for him going forward. His early round performance actually has me feeling a little bit better about things if he does get another fight because he showed some real fight and resistance this time. Of course, I would prefer if he took a break and fully recovered after a knockout like that, but with Tony, he's going to do what he wants when he wants, so we'll see what is plan is on that front. The first option for Tony would be Conor McGregor. I feel like no one is really talking about it, but I think it is a perfectly reasonable and good fight to make. Both are coming off of several losses and need someone who will stand with them. Conor and Tony don't want to be taken down and would prefer to stand and bang it out, which the other would provide. Tony brings his own fanbase as well and wouldn't need Conor to do all of the heavy lifting in the promotion, which I think Conor is looking for in however many fights he has left in him. Tony isn't the hot name that Chandler is now or even Masvidal, but I think Tony is certainly on Conor's list of guys he would have interest in. Other than that, I think Dan Hooker is really the best option. I think this fight might be the best thing for the both of them. Neither can get a bigger fight in my estimation and it gives them the style matchup that they want. It does seem like Conor's focus is on Chandler, so I would say Dan Hooker is the perfect fight for Tony right now, if he does fight again. No matter who it is, I think it should be someone who will stand with Tony. That will give us a clear indication of where Tony's skills are when he is fighting the style of fight that he wants to.
I think that's all I have on this fight. What did you guys think? How did you score the first round? What did you make of Tony Ferguson's performance? What do you think he'll do next? What about Michael Chandler's night? Is it definitely Conor for him next? Leave any and all thoughts below. Thanks for reading and have a good one.
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