Charles Oliveira vs. Justin Gaethje set for UFC 274

Another blockbuster lightweight title fight has been made official on the UFC calendar.

As first reported by ESPN, Charles Oliveira will look to defend his 155 lbs title at UFC 274 when he takes on Justin Gaethje on May 7th. While UFC 274 was initially scheduled to take place in Oliveira’s native Brazil, the PPV event is now expected to take place in the U.S.A although a venue and location are yet to be finalized.

Oliveira (32-8, 1 NC) would claim the vacant lightweight title in May 2021 after defeating Michael Chandler via second-round TKO. In the process of picking up UFC gold for the first time, ‘Do Bronx’ would break the UFC record for most stoppage victories. Oliveira has since successfully defended his championship once after scoring a third-round submission win over Dustin Poirier, extending his promotional record to 18 finishes inside the scheduled distance.

Gaethje (23-3) meanwhile will make a second attempt to become the undisputed UFC lightweight champion after a failed bid in 2020 against Khabib Nurmagomedov. A former interim champion, Gaethje is renowned for his fan-friendly fighting style and will enter UFC 274 coming off of one of 2021’s best fights after defeating Michael Chandler via unanimous decision at UFC 268.

UFC 274 is now set to feature two title fights with light heavyweight champion Glover Teixeira booked to defend his 205 lbs belt against Jiri Prochazka.