Chael Sonnen gives his prediction for Charles Oliveira vs Michael Chandler at UFC 262

Chael Sonnen believes Michael Chandler will defeat Charles Oliveira to become the next UFC lightweight champion at the UFC 262 event on May 15. Both fighters are evenly matched in terms of skills and are credentialed in the striking and grappling department.

The betting odds have Charles Oliveira as a slight -135 favorite over Chandler. However, 'The American Gangster' thinks Oliveira might not be able to come up with the right game plan to beat the former Bellator champ. Chael Sonnen predicted the Michael Chandler win on his YouTube channel but admitted that both fighters are evenly matched and the outcome could be completely different from his prediction.

Chael Sonnen thinks Charles Oliveira might not be able to implement a workable strategy against Michael Chandler

Michael Chandler knocked out Dan Hooker in his promotional debut after backing Hooker up for the majority of the fight. Sonnen reasoned that although Michael Chandler does not have enough cage time in the UFC, 'Iron' showed his ability to control the octagon and command respect from his opponent. He added that if Oliveira came into the fight and tried to outmaneuver Chandler, Do Bronx would have a hard time dealing with Chandler's explosiveness.

"That's a big deal. If you respect Chandler, you're gonna have a hard time beating him. I don't mean mentally... If you walk out hesitant if he stands his ground and he comes forward and you circle left or you circle right, you're going to have problems. You're not going out-thinking and out-strategizing him," Chael Sonnen said.

Michael Chandler has a formidable NCAA Div 1 wrestling background and has had a strength advantage in the majority of his MMA fights. Chael Sonnen stated that standing your ground and not allowing Michael Chandler to push you backwards is the right approach. But he added that implementing this approach might not yield expected results either because of Chandler's strength advantage and skill level. Chael Sonnen said:

"I have a feeling that any coach in this world will look at that and tell you - circle left and circle right. They're wrong. You've gotta go forward. You've got to bully him. It's hard to do. Because he's strong. It's hard to bully and make somebody quit when they're in as good shape and as good competitors as Michael Chandler."

Michael Chandler and Charles Oliveira will fight in the headliner of UFC 262 pay-per-view event scheduled to take place on May 15. The pair will compete for the lightweight title left vacant by former champion Khabib Nurmagomedov's retirement. The trilogy fight between Dustin Poirier and Conor Mcgregor will most likely determine the first challenger to the lightweight title.