5 biggest winners from UFC 274: Charles Oliveira vs. Justin Gaethje

With two title bouts, as well as an insane-sounding lightweight tilt between Tony Ferguson and Michael Chandler on tap, UFC 274 looked like a potentially classic show. In the end, it delivered in spades.

UFC 274 saw some huge wins from a number of fighters, including one title victory. It’s likely that its results will be felt for a lengthy time going forward.

With a number of fighters picking up huge victories to advance their places in their various weight classes, the event featured many big winners. However, some stand out more than the others.

Here are the five biggest winners from UFC 274: Charles Oliveira vs. Justin Gaethje.

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#5. Carla Esparza – defeated Rose Namajunas to win the UFC strawweight title

After defeating Rose Namajunas in a dull bout, Carla Esparza is the new strawweight champion

Usually, any fighter winning a UFC title would sit near the top of a list like this. Despite Carla Esparza reclaiming the strawweight crown that she lost to Joanna Jedrzejczyk over seven years ago, the way in which she did it means it’s hard to rank her that highly here.

‘The Cookie Monster’ unseated Rose Namajunas, but to say that the fight was disappointing would be an understatement. In fact, there’s probably an argument that it belongs amongst the worst title bouts in the promotion’s history, alongside awful fights like Tyron Woodley vs. Stephen Thompson and Tim Sylvia vs. Andrei Arlovski.

Essentially, Namajunas looked thoroughly gunshy and didn’t seem willing to engage with Esparza at all. While ‘The Cookie Monster’ didn’t actually do that much more in her own right, she at least landed a couple of takedowns, which likely won her the bout and title.

Quite where Esparza goes from here is anyone’s guess. Despite there being a number of possible challengers for her, there’s probably an argument that ‘Thug Rose’ deserves an immediate rematch. Due to the nature of this fight, though, it feels unlikely that the promotion will go down that route.

Either way, ‘The Cookie Monster’ is now a champion again. While the bout was terrible, you can’t take her title win away from her which makes her one of last night’s big winners.

#4. Randy Brown – defeated Khaos Williams in a UFC welterweight bout

Randy Brown made the most of a late notice main card opportunity by beating Khaos Williams

Success in the UFC can often come down to a fighter simply taking the opportunities that come their way. In that sense, Randy Brown should definitely go down as one of last night’s biggest winners.

‘Rude Boy’ was initially supposed to fight Khaos Williams in a preliminary bout that probably would’ve flown under the radar. When Donald Cerrone took ill – forcing the promotion to scrap his bout with Joe Lauzon – Brown vs. Williams was moved onto the main card.

Not only did the product of Jamaica perform excellently in the fight, he also survived a first round knockdown to outpoint ‘The Ox Fighter’, putting him on a three-fight win streak in one of the UFC’s deepest divisions.

Brown’s win was made possible due to his striking skills. He was able to jab and land combinations on Williams while largely avoiding his opponent’s heavier strikes. While the two men didn’t net a bonus award, on other, less exciting shows, they may well have gone home $50k richer.

Overall, ‘Rude Boy’ maximised a late-notice main card slot and may well have parlayed it into another showcase in the near future, making him one of the night’s big winners.

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#3. Brandon Royval – defeated Matt Schnell in a UFC flyweight bout

Brandon Royval's win over Matt Schnell may have edged him closer to a flyweight title shot

Outside of Charles Oliveira – who should probably be considered a champion already despite the issue of his weight miss – the fighter who advanced his cause the most in terms of a future UFC title shot last night was definitely Brandon Royval.

‘Raw Dawg’ not only choked out Matt Schnell in what was declared the event’s Fight of the Night – making him a cool $50k richer – but the win was also his second in a row. Given that he’s already got a win over Kai Kara-France – who is arguably the division’s top contender right now – that’s a very big deal.

Is it likely that Royval is rewarded with the next shot at reigning UFC flyweight king Deiveson Figueiredo? Unfortunately not as it’s still likely to go to Brandon Moreno in the first four-fight title series in the promotion’s history. However, ‘Raw Dawg’ could easily net a top contender’s match with someone like Askar Askarov or Alexandre Pantoja (giving him a chance to avenge a past loss) instead.

Either way, this win proved that Royval a very real contender at 125lbs. It was also more proof that right now, the promotion doesn’t house many more entertaining fighters than him. Expect ‘Raw Dawg’ to appear on the main card next time out.

#2. Michael Chandler – defeated Tony Ferguson in a UFC lightweight bout

Michael Chandler became the first man to knock Tony Ferguson unconscious after an exciting fight

The lightweight bout between Michael Chandler and Tony Ferguson always felt likely to produce one of UFC 274’s most memorable moments. In the end, not only did the fight live up to the hype, but it may have produced 2022’s best knockout overall.

It was Ferguson who took the fight’s first round. He sniped at Chandler with some beautiful strikes, wobbling ‘Iron Mike’ more than once and then threatening with submissions once the former Bellator champion took him down.

However, when the second round began, it didn’t take Chandler long to turn the tables. He did so by practically shattering Ferguson’s face with one of the nastiest front kicks we’ve ever seen in the octagon. The shot knocked ‘El Cucuy’ completely unconscious for the first time in his MMA career.

Given his relatively recent losses to Charles Oliveira and Justin Gaethje, it’s unlikely that the win nets Chandler a UFC lightweight title shot. In his post-fight interview, ‘Iron Mike’ didn’t mention the title anyway.

Instead, he seemed to have another – arguably bigger – fish to fry, as he called out Conor McGregor in his trademark entertaining fashion. Whether the UFC actually puts that fight together is another thing entirely. If they do, it could turn into one of the biggest bouts in a long time.

Essentially, due to the possibility of that fight, as well as the entertaining nature of the knockout, it’s hard not to consider Chandler anything but a huge winner.

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#1. Charles Oliveira – defeated Justin Gaethje in a UFC lightweight bout

Charles Oliveira is the best lightweight on the planet, whether or not he holds the UFC title

While his weigh-in botch means that he’s no longer officially the UFC lightweight champion, it’d be hard to argue against the idea that last night’s biggest winner was Charles Oliveira. ‘Do Bronx’ basically destroyed Justin Gaethje en route to a first-round finish, cementing himself as the best 155lber on the planet.

The fight lasted just over three minutes, but it wasn’t one-sided in Oliveira’s favor by any means. ‘Do Bronx’ had to weather a genuine storm – including a nasty knockdown – but once again, he displayed some insane toughness to come back from it.

From there, he leveled Gaethje with a crushing right hand of his own and, moments later, forced him to tap out with a rear-naked choke. This gave him his 16th submission win inside the octagon as well as his 11th win in a row overall.

Who is next for Oliveira? It sounds like the UFC are unsurprisingly willing to have him fight for the title that, in reality, he’s never actually lost. It sounds like that fight could come against Islam Makhachev.

If ‘Do Bronx’ can win that one, then not only will he be cemented as the best lightweight in the world right now, he will probably become a genuine UFC legend in the process, if he isn’t there already. Title or no title, he was last night’s biggest winner.