UFC 274: Oliveira vs. Gaethje | Event Profile, Full Results & Legacy
- Tito Wordsmith
- May 17
- 5 min read
Updated: Jun 15
Introduction
UFC 274: Oliveira vs. Gaethje took place on Saturday, May 7, 2022 at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona. It was the night a UFC champion lost his title on the scales for the first time in promotion history, the night Michael Chandler produced one of the most replayed KOs of all time, and the night a women's strawweight title fight was so uneventful that the ABC commission downgraded the bonus structure retroactively. The card produced an estimated 600,000 pay-per-view buys.
Charles Oliveira missed weight by 0.5 lbs at the Friday weigh-in after multiple weigh-in attempts. The UFC stripped him of the title on the scales. He proceeded to fight Justin Gaethje for the vacant lightweight title and submitted him by rear-naked choke at 3:22 of round one. Oliveira was the vacant UFC lightweight champion.
The co-main produced one of the most controversial title fights in UFC history. Carla Esparza took the strawweight title from Rose Namajunas via split decision (47-48, 48-47, 49-46) in a five-round fight that produced fewer than 50 combined significant strikes.
The featured main-card bout produced the Knockout of the Year. Michael Chandler landed a clean front kick to the jaw of Tony Ferguson at 0:17 of round two that left Ferguson unconscious on the canvas. The image became one of the most-circulated photographs in modern MMA.
Contents
• FAQ
Quick Stats
📅 Date: Saturday, May 7, 2022
📍 Venue: Footprint Center, Phoenix, Arizona, USA
👥 Attendance: 17,165 (full capacity)
💰 Gate: $4.2 million
📺 PPV Buys: ~600,000
📡 Broadcast: Pay-per-view (ESPN+ in USA)
🏆 Main Event: Charles Oliveira vs. Justin Gaethje — Vacant UFC Lightweight Championship (155 lbs)
✅ Result: Oliveira def. Gaethje via Submission (rear-naked choke) — R1, 3:22
🥇 Co-Main: Carla Esparza def. Rose Namajunas (c) via Split Decision (47-48, 48-47, 49-46) — Strawweight Title
The Build-Up
Charles Oliveira entered UFC 274 as the reigning UFC lightweight champion off his UFC 269 title defense against Dustin Poirier. Justin Gaethje had earned the title shot through his Fight of the Year-winning performance against Michael Chandler at UFC 268. The story of fight week was Oliveira missing weight by 0.5 lbs and being stripped on the scales.
Main Event: Oliveira vs. Gaethje
Round one was an instant classic in two minutes. Gaethje landed a clean left hook at 0:30 that dropped Oliveira. The Brazilian recovered, scored a takedown at 1:30, and immediately worked into a back-mount. From there, Oliveira locked in a tight rear-naked choke at 3:00 — Gaethje defended for 22 seconds before tapping at 3:22.
Charles Oliveira was the UFC lightweight champion for the second time. He had won the title at UFC 262, lost it on the scales at UFC 274, and reclaimed it 24 hours later. He would lose his next bout against Islam Makhachev at UFC 280 in October 2022.
Co-Main Event: Namajunas vs. Esparza 2
Five rounds. Fewer than 50 combined significant strikes. Carla Esparza pressed forward for most of round one but found Namajunas's reach difficult to close. Final scorecards: 47-48, 48-47, 49-46 — a split decision for Carla Esparza. The 49-46 card was widely seen as inflated. Esparza would lose the title to Zhang Weili at UFC 281 in November 2022.
Full Results
Main Card (Pay-Per-View)
Charles Oliveira def. Justin Gaethje — Submission (rear-naked choke) — R1, 3:22 — Vacant Lightweight Title
Carla Esparza def. Rose Namajunas (c) — Split Decision (47-48, 48-47, 49-46) — Strawweight Title
Michael Chandler def. Tony Ferguson — KO (front kick) — R2, 0:17 — Lightweight
Joe Lauzon def. Donald Cerrone — TKO (punches) — R1 (Cerrone retired in-cage after) — Welterweight
Macy Chiasson def. Norma Dumont — Unanimous Decision (29-28 ×3) — Women's Featherweight
Preliminary Card (ESPN/ESPN+)
Randy Brown def. Khaos Williams — Unanimous Decision (29-28 ×3) — Welterweight
Ovince Saint Preux def. Mauricio Rua — TKO (punches) — R1 (Rua retired in-cage after) — Light Heavyweight
Andre Fialho def. Cameron Vancamp — TKO (punches) — R1, 2:54 — Welterweight
Tracy Cortez def. Melissa Gatto — Unanimous Decision (29-28 ×3) — Women's Flyweight
Bonuses & Awards
🥇 Performance of the Night: Michael Chandler — $50,000 for the second-round front-kick KO of Tony Ferguson — widely identified as the 2022 UFC Knockout of the Year.
🥇 Performance of the Night: Charles Oliveira — $50,000 for the first-round rear-naked choke of Justin Gaethje.
🥇 Performance of the Night: Ovince Saint Preux / Mauricio Rua — $50,000 each. Rua retired immediately after the fight.
Records & Milestones
• First UFC champion in promotion history to be stripped of the title on the scales — Charles Oliveira, 0.5 lbs over.
• Michael Chandler's front-kick KO of Tony Ferguson — widely identified as the 2022 UFC Knockout of the Year.
• Ferguson's fourth consecutive UFC loss.
• Oliveira's 21st UFC finish — the all-time promotion record.
• Donald Cerrone and Mauricio Rua retirements on the same night — two of the most respected veterans of the modern UFC era.
Legacy & Impact
UFC 274 is remembered as the night the UFC lightweight title was lost on the scales for the first time in promotion history and the night Michael Chandler produced the 2022 Knockout of the Year. Charles Oliveira's reclamation of the title 24 hours after missing weight — by submitting Justin Gaethje in round one — was one of the most surreal championship-reign turnarounds in UFC history.
For Charles Oliveira, the win confirmed his place as the most prolific finisher in UFC history but did not extend his championship reign. He lost the title to Islam Makhachev at UFC 280 in October 2022 by second-round arm-triangle submission.
For Michael Chandler, the Ferguson KO was the most-replayed strike of his career. The Cerrone and Rua retirements — two of the most respected veterans of the modern UFC era — marked the formal close of a generation.
FAQ
Why did Oliveira miss weight?
Officially, by 0.5 lbs after multiple weigh-in attempts. Oliveira had been making the 155-lb limit successfully for over a decade. The Nevada State Athletic Commission refused to allow a re-weigh. The result: Oliveira was stripped on the scales, became ineligible to claim the belt with a win, and Gaethje became the only eligible candidate for the vacant belt.
Was the Namajunas-Esparza 2 fight really that bad?
Yes. Fewer than 50 combined significant strikes across five championship rounds. Rounds two and three featured stretches of multiple minutes where neither fighter threw a single strike. The performance was widely criticised; the ABC commission downgraded the post-fight bonus structure.
What made the Chandler-Ferguson KO so memorable?
The execution and the still frame. Chandler timed Ferguson's forward pressure perfectly, landed a clean front kick to the jaw at 0:17 of round two, and dropped Ferguson unconscious. The still frame — Chandler's foot fully extended past Ferguson's chin, Ferguson's legs already collapsing — became one of the most-circulated MMA photographs of the modern era.
Did Oliveira keep the title after UFC 274?
Briefly. Oliveira held the title from UFC 274 (May 2022) until UFC 280 (October 2022), where he lost it to Islam Makhachev by second-round arm-triangle submission. His undisputed reign lasted approximately five months.
Did Tony Ferguson ever bounce back?
No. UFC 274 was Ferguson's fourth consecutive loss after his UFC 249 loss to Gaethje. He extended the streak to eight consecutive UFC defeats before being released by the UFC in May 2025.
How does UFC 274 compare to UFC 273?
UFC 274 drew approximately 600,000 PPV buys versus UFC 273 (600,000) four weeks earlier — essentially even. The Chandler-Ferguson KO and the Oliveira weigh-in drama were the in-cage and pre-event narratives that anchored the card.
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