With Texas previously announcing that it was open for business, the UFC has done as promised and set a return date in the state.
Promotion officials announced on Friday that UFC 262 would take place at the Toyota Center in Houston, TX. The event takes place on May 15. That news follows the previous announcement of the UFC 261 card being moved to Jacksonville, FL. In both cases, full capacity crows are expected.
The PPV event will be the second UFC event to feature fans since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic last March. Starting with UFC Brasilia on March 19, 2020, all UFC events have been held in empty venues — initially (post-Brasilia) with a trio of shows in Jacksonville, Florida, then at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, and on “Fight Island” (Yas Island) in Abu Dhabi.
The only exception to the “no fans” rule was a limited number of spectators on Fight Island during the UFC’s run there in January.
In the wake of Khabib Nurmagomedov’s retirement being deemed official by UFC President Dana White, UFC 262 will be headlined by a lightweight title fight. That bout will see former Bellator MMA champ Michael Chandler, who made a splash at UFC 257 in January by knocking out Dan Hooker, go up against the surging Charles Oliveira. Brazil’s “Do Bronx” is currently on an eight-fight win streak.
The UFC 262 card currently consists of the following bouts:
Charles Oliveira vs. Michael Chandler – for the vacant UFC lightweight championship
Priscila Cachoeira vs. Gina Mazany
Katlyn Chookagian vs. Viviane Araújo
Alex Perez vs. Matt Schnell
Andrea Lee vs. Antonina Shevchenko
Edson Barboza vs. Shane Burgos
Jordan Wright vs. Jamie Pickett
Jack Hermansson vs. Edmen Shahbazyan
Christos Giagos vs. Joel Álvarez
Tony Ferguson vs. Beneil Dariush
