Photo by Louis Grasse/PxImages/Icon Sportswire via Getty ImagesThe UFC lightweight division belongs to Charles Oliveira now. But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t think about what could have been at 145 pounds. Or what still could be. For years, Oliveira insisted on making the cut down to featherweight, even as the battle with the scale challenged him as much as anyone that stepped into the cage with him. Oliveira missed the featherweight limit four times and a move to lightweight was preceded by an egregious miss of almost 10 pounds for a bout against Ricardo Lamas in November 2016. Oliveira has won 10 of 11 fights since moving up a division and on Saturday at UFC 262, his lightweight journey culminated in him winning a vacant UFC title after finishing Michael Chandler with strikes in the second round. Even with a championship belt fresh around his waist, “do Bronx” told reporters at the evening’s post-fight press conference that he still sees a return to featherweight as a possibility. “I still feel like a featherweight,” Oliveira said via Portuese translation when asked if he’s closing the door on featherweight for good. “If Dana White gave me the opportunity to go back to the featherweight division and win, I’d take it.” Oliveira’s time at featherweight wasn’t without highlights; in fact, he showed enormous promise in his first two UFC outings with submission wins over Efrain Escudero and Darren Elkins. It wasn’t until September 2012 that Oliveira developed both a reputation for missing weight and for being unable to win the big one. Against top-tier competition like Lamas, Anthony Pettis, Max Holloway, Frankie Edgar, and Cub Swanson, Oliveira went 0-5. On Saturday, he made his 28th UFC appearance, which is the most appearances for a fighter getting their first-ever shot at a UFC title in promotional history. For Oliveira, it couldn’t have worked out better. “I feel ready,” Oliveira said. “Like I said, it’s always in the time of God, but now I feel like a lion, I feel like I’m ready.” Oliveira was 9-7 when he moved from featherweight to lightweight, a modest record that made it seem like Oliveira was more of a talented gatekeeper than a future world champion. Had he made the move to 155 pounds sooner or if he’d managed to win one or two of those marquee matchups at 145 pounds, his career trajectory would have been drastically different. But other than his tease of dropping back down in weight, Oliveira is firmly focused on the future now. “That’s the past,” Oliveira said. “I’m not even living that, I’m living in the present, I’m living this moment now.”

Conor McGregor and Dee Devlin have welcomed their third child into the world. The former two-division UFC champion, who is set to face Dustin Poirier in the main event of UFC 264 on July 10 in Las Vegas, took to Instagram on Monday to announce the arrival of newborn son Rian McGregor. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Conor McGregor Official (@thenotoriousmma) “The McGregor clan is now a family of 5,” he wrote. “Healthy baby boy delivered! Baby and Mammy Wonder Woman are doing great! God, I thank you for everything you gave to me and my family in this world.” Rian joins siblings Conor Jr. and Croia in the McGregor family. It has been quite the week for McGregor has he recently was revealed to be Forbes’ highest paid athlete in 2021 after clearing a remarkable $180 million over the last 12 months with the earnings from his UFC 257 main event with Dustin Poirier, the selling of his majority stake in Proper No. 12 for $150 million, along with his endorsement portfolio featuring DraftKings and Roots of Fight. McGregor’s next appearance in the octagon will be the trilogy matchup with Poirier, which emanates from the sold out T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Photo by Chris Unger/DWCS LLC/Zuffa LLCA matchup between Dana White’s Contender Series contract winners will take place in July. Multiple people with knowledge of the promotion’s plans confirmed to MMA Fighting that a welterweight bout between Philip Rowe and Orion Cosce has been added to the UFC’s fight card on July 31 which currently does not have a location or venue officially announced. Rowe, who earned a contract after a third-round TKO win over Leon Shahbazyan on DWCS in July 2019, will look to pick up his first octagon victory. “The Fresh Prince” had his seven-fight winning streak snapped at UFC 258, dropping a close decision to Gabe Green. The 30-year-old has finished all of his professional wins. Cosce (7-0) has never seen the judges’ scorecards, a trend that continued during his third-round TKO win at DWCS this past August over Matt Dixon. The 26-year-old—along with his brother Louis—earned a contract from the UFC president. Cosce was originally scheduled to make his octagon debut at UFC 255 in November before being forced to withdraw from the card.

Photo by Louis Grasse/PxImages/Icon Sportswire via Getty ImagesIt took a little over 12 hours for Beneil Dariush to get a response to his callout from Elon Musk himself. Following his dominant co-main event victory over Tony Ferguson at UFC 262 this past Saturday night, Dariush used his time with Joe Rogan to call out the CEO of Tesla Motors due to a delay on his wife getting her new car. “Elon, where’s my wife’s car, bro? I’ve been waiting six months,” Dariush stated. “I’m having a baby, I need a good car, I’ve got to protect my daughter. Let’s go, Elon. Get me my car!” While speaking with reporters—including MMA Fighting—at the UFC 262 post-fight press conference, Dariush was asked to elaborate further on what happened with the car. “December I ordered my car. I ordered the safest car, they told me,” Dariush explained. “It’s the best car for my pregnant wife and I’m still waiting. “Elon, bro, what’s the deal man? You told me March, we’re coming up on June. I want my car. Come on, bud. Big fan, but his is disrespect.” On Sunday, Musk took to Twitter to let the soon-to-be top-five lightweight that his car will be coming and offered a public apology. Coming soon. Sorry for the delay!— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 16, 2021 Dariush has now won his last seven fights, which also includes a decision win over Diego Ferreira at February’s UFC Vegas 18 event. With a new daughter about to be welcomed into the world, “Benny” expects to return to action in December, or early 2022.

Photo by Cooper Neill/Zuffa LLCOn Saturday night at UFC 262, Edson Barboza and Shane Burgos were having a sensational fight when, in the third round, something bizarre happened. After walking through Barboza’s barrage of offense all fight without issue, Burgos ate another big right hand and once again seemed to shake it off. “Seemed” is the operative word there though because a full three seconds after the shot landed, Burgos’ legs suddenly gave out on him, sending him reeling backwards where Barboza followed up and finished the fight. The sheer length of time between the shot landing and Burgos going down was highly unusual leaving the UFC commentary team to speculate that Burgos was simply too tough for his own body, leading to the delayed reaction, and it turns out, that is likely true. Dr. David Abbasi is a ringside physician and orthopedic surgeon who breaks down sports injuries on his YouTube channel, and following the fights on Saturday night, Dr. Abbasi posted a video explaining how KOs normally work from a physiological standpoint and why this one was so strange. “First of all, anything that involves the brain is going to be complicated...,” Dr. Abbasi said. “The brain is enclosed within the skull and is surrounded by a layer of protective fluid called cerebrospinal fluid which basically acts to cushion and protect the brain when the head is shook so the brain is not swashing around on the inside of the head. Now with a knockout type blow like the one we saw Edson Barboza deliver, what can happen is that any sudden movements of the skull can cause the brain to knock around on the inside of the skull. When that happens you get a dump of increased electrical activity and imbalances of the electrical activity can sometimes cause what we consider a knockout, or basically shut down of the central nervous system and the body. “In this specific instance, we see a delayed reaction of that. Being a ringside physician me and my colleagues at these events with boxing and mixed martial arts, what we think happens is basically a clash of a person’s will power versus scientific ability to continue a fight. Almost like if you were to imagine someone at the end of a triathlon you see those people try to run or crawl across the finish line but their body physically cannot do it. I think there’s a component of that that we can consider was happening.” According to the good doctor though, it wasn’t just Burgos’ toughness that led to the delayed reaction, it also could have been Burgos himself. After eating the shot from Barboza, Burgos kept right on going with his bouncing head movement and Dr. Abbasi thinks that too may have contributed to the outcome. “After he gets hit by the punch by Edson Barboza, at first he acts normally and actually we see him do his normal type of head movement back and forth which in my opinion probably made things worse because his brain was probably on the verge of electrical activity where it was going to shut down or have a knockout but it was just on that border,” Dr. Abbasi said. “I think the addition of that head movement certainly did not help things and could have increased the severity of that blow that Edson Barboza delivered. But I think that scientifically, probably what’s going on it was probably an intersection of extremely tough will power meeting the scientific verge of a knockout with the abnormal electrical activity. I think the increased or continuation of his movement put him over the edge in terms of what his brain and central nervous system was able to handle and I think as he was realizing what was going on his body was giving him that message. ‘Listen, something is very nor right and something is very wrong,’ and that’s what caused him to go down on the ground and have that delayed knockout reaction. “Anything that involves the brain is always going to be complex but that’s our best ability of what we think is going on. So that would be my best explanation for what happened.” Though the delayed reaction made the KO both odd and a little scary, Burgos is fine, or at least, as fine as one can be given the circumstances. Speaking briefly with MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck, Burgos announced that he is okay and essentially corroborated Dr. Abbasi’s assessment that his body simply turned off on him. “I remember everything it was just a weird feeling that shut my legs off slowly. I’m 100% safe, healthy, coherent and remember it all.” Burgos also posted to Instagram shortly afterwards with a statement on his health and lots of respect for Barboza. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Shane Burgos (@hurricaneshane_) Though losing is never easy, especially in such strange circumstances, Burgos can perhaps take solace in all the extra money his toughness earned him as his fight with Barboza earned Fight of the Night honors and an additional $75,000. TOP STORIES Results. Charles Oliveira survives tough first round to win lightweight title, Beneil Dariush dominates Tony Ferguson at UFC 262. Results. Arjan Bhullar stops Brandon Vera to win heavyweight title at ONE Championship. Set up. Charles Oliveira responds to Conor McGregor: Beat Dustin Poirier, then ‘I’ll put you on your ass’. Hope. Michael Chandler undeterred by loss to Charles Oliveira: ‘I will be UFC champion by the time my career is up’. Zombie. Beneil Dariush says Tony Ferguson in ‘zombie mode’ at UFC 262. Father Time. Dana White wonders if in-cage battles have caught up with Tony Ferguson after UFC 262 loss. Hardball. Dana White on Jon Jones’ future: ‘He can fight this summer, or he can never fight again’. VIDEO STEW UFC 262 Post Show. UFC 262 Post-Fight Press Conference. UFC 263 trailer. My man also talked about Jacare’s arm. Gamebred back in the gym. LISTEN UP On To The Next One. Matches to make following UFC 262. Severe MMA. Discussing UFC 262, Invicta, and Cris Cyborg. SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE Champ. What say? Hard work paid off. A dream came true. Now I'm UFC lightweight champ. Thank you to my fans for all the support. You're special.O que dizer? Meu esforço valeu a pena. O sonho se tornou realidade, me tornei campeão leve do UFC. Fãs, obrigado pelo apoio. #AFavelaVenceu— Charles Oliveira (@CharlesDoBronxs) May 16, 2021 View this post on Instagram A post shared by Charles Oliveira (@charlesdobronxs) Contenders. Congratulations @CharlesDoBronxs you earned that the hard way! Head up @MikeChandlerMMA highest of the highs and lowest of the lows.— The Diamond (@DustinPoirier) May 16, 2021 Congrats to Olivera on becoming the 11th UFC lightweight champion. Wonder who Twelve is...— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) May 16, 2021 Congrats @CharlesDoBronxs keep that belt for me. See you soon https://t.co/8tX0WCouBq— Makhachev Islam (@MAKHACHEVMMA) May 16, 2021 I guess the call out worked. ❤️ https://t.co/VvGVJMkXMq— Beneil Dariush (@beneildariush) May 16, 2021 Too tough for their own good. UFC 262 -CSO- # I Won’t Tap # One. Day Of Reflection ✝️ pic.twitter.com/c2v5Sq8fmP— Tony Ferguson (@TonyFergusonXT) May 17, 2021 In an update posted from the hospital, Jacare says his arm is broken and he will be having surgery tomorrow (via @JacareMMA) pic.twitter.com/OafwnbqCse— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) May 17, 2021 Support. You are my hero! My inspiration! My example! Love you so much my dear sister ! Always will be by your side , same as you always doing it for me ! ❤️❤️❤️— Valentina Shevchenko (@BulletValentina) May 16, 2021 Bantamweight stuff. Last American born UFC Champ #FirstGeneration Jamaican. I will defend this title come November! Take out Dillashaw/Sandhagen, then wreck that weasel Cejudo! ☝ — Aljamain Sterling (@funkmasterMMA) May 16, 2021 Go back to your room and study the rules, you simpleton https://t.co/PJpNPsktSk— Aljamain Sterling (@funkmasterMMA) May 16, 2021 Winner will fight @HenryCejudo pic.twitter.com/p6Fmt2LyP2— Petr “No Mercy” Yan (@PetrYanUFC) May 17, 2021 Classic Chael. Will this be your first meeting w/attorneys where you/they aren't separated by 2-inch-thick Plexiglass? https://t.co/EU8y2oKSTh— Chael Sonnen (@ChaelSonnen) May 16, 2021 I'm pretty sure there's some “Bones”Under there somewhere pic.twitter.com/NkpHmeWnId— Chael Sonnen (@ChaelSonnen) May 16, 2021 Dear (FLESH and) BONES:You're a HeavyweightSigned,REALITY https://t.co/EH2vLLPDaM— Chael Sonnen (@ChaelSonnen) May 16, 2021 INDIANA Jones couldn't excavate deep enough to find any "Bones" in thatMOUND— Chael Sonnen (@ChaelSonnen) May 17, 2021 Uhhhh. .@ChuckLiddell we need to run it back in @UFC!— Tito Ortiz (@titoortiz) May 16, 2021 FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS Brett Johns (17-2) vs. Daniel Sabatello (10-1); Bellator 259, May 21. Uriah Hall (17-9) vs. Sean Strickland (23-3); UFC 256, Aug. 7. FINAL THOUGHTS Thanks for reading and see y’all tomorrow. EXIT POLL If you find something you’d like to see in the Morning Report, hit up @JedKMeshew on Twitter and let him know about it. 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