Michael Chandler vs. Tony Ferguson in the works for UFC 274 in May

A matchup of premier lightweight contenders will go down at UFC 274 on the same night the division’s title is on the line.

Former Bellator champion Michael Chandler and former interim UFC champ Tony Ferguson have verbally agreed to fight at the May 7 event, which takes place at Footprint Center in Phoenix with a main card that airs on pay-per-view following prelims likely to air on ESPN and stream on ESPN+.

Contracts for the marquee pairing have not been issued, but Chandler (22-7 MMA, 1-2 UFC) and Ferguson (25-6 MMA, 15-4 UFC) have agreed to the fight, multiple people who spoke on the condition of anonymity verified to MMA Junkie following an initial report from Sports Illustrated.

Chandler, 35, is No. 9 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie lightweight rankings. The Sanford MMA product is coming off back-to-back losses against Justin Gaethje in MMA Junkie’s Fight of the Year at UFC 268 in November and Charles Oliveira in a vacant title bout at UFC 262 in May.

No. 8-ranked Ferguson, meanwhile, has dropped his past three fights against Beneil Dariush, Oliveira, and Gaethje. Prior to the string of defeats, the 38-year-old had put together 13 consecutive victories at 155 pounds.

The latest UFC 274 lineup now includes:

• Charles Oliveira vs. Justin Gaethje – for lightweight title
• Michael Chandler vs. Tony Ferguson
• Mauricio Rua vs. Ovince Saint Preux
• Blagoy Ivanov vs. Marcos Rogerio de Lima
• Donald Cerrone vs. Joe Lauzon
• Macy Chiasson vs. Norma Dumont
• Ariane Carnelossi vs. Loopy Godinez
• Kleydson Rodrigues vs. CJ Vergara
• Danny Roberts vs. Francisco Trinaldo
• Brandon Royval vs. Matt Schnell
• Randy Brown vs. Khaos Williams