The Pandemic Era of the UFC has decidedly gone Jared Gordon’s way.

The Astoria, Queens native is 3-0 over the past two years — the longest unbeaten stretch of his tenure with promotion. He’s competing at a more comfortable weight: 155 pounds. He even got married “American Ninja Warrior” veteran Christina Gambino whom he’s known since first grade in late October.

Gordon (18-4, eight finishes) can keep the hot streak going on Saturday at UFC Apex in Las Vegas with a win over Grant Dawson, his opponent for a main-card bout set to air on ESPN and stream on ESPN+ (7 p.m. start).

Even Gordon’s last defeat is aging better these days than when it happened in November 2019, when a surging Charles Oliveira knocked the New Yorker out in the first round. Within 18 months, the Brazilian nicknamed “do Bronx” was the lightweight champion. He is set to defend his belt next weekend in the UFC 274 pay-per-view headliner against Justin Gaethje.

Oliveira’s win over Gordon marked his sixth in a row, as the future champion was finally realizing the potential many had seen in him nearly a decade earlier. And, as Gordon tells it, Gambino saw it coming even as many previously had written him off.

“It’s weird because, after the fight, my wife was like, ‘He’s gonna be the champion,’ ” Gordon recently told The Post via Zoom. “… It almost sounds good. ‘Oh, my last loss was [to] Charles Oliveira.’ ”

Obviously, Gordon wouldn’t mind that remaining his latest defeat in perpetuity. To keep it that way in the short term, he’ll need to navigate his way past Dawson (17-1-1, 15 finishes), who similarly to Gordon has outgrown the featherweight division and settled up a weight class. 

Gordon’s original scheduled opponent, Rafael Alves, bowed out for undisclosed reasons about five weeks before fight night. Though not uncommon, an opponent change isn’t ideal. Still, there’s plenty of upside in now facing Dawson, who is unbeaten in six UFC fights compared to Alves’ 1-1 mark with the promotion. 

Not that Gordon views either opponent as easier than the other, viewing both men as tough. But it’s plain to see how much more of a springboard to bigger and better things a win over Dawson would be than one over Alves, or even other potential opponents the UFC had attempted to book against him.

“Grant stepped in, and I was definitely happy,” said Gordon, who now lives and trains in Florida. “Stylistically, it’s a great fight for me. And he’s got way more of a name than any of the guys that [UFC] had given me [after Alves withdrew].”

Even the bumps in the road are going Gordon’s way lately, it would seem.

The 33-year-old has designs on entering the rankings sooner than later as he — like all 155-pounders on the UFC roster — chases down Oliveira’s gold. His is arguably the most loaded weight class in mixed martial arts, so that’s no easy feat. But Dawson occupies a spot inside the top 25 from both Tapology and Fight Matrix, which both compile deeper rankings than many outlets and include fighters from all promotions. A victory could vault Gordon to more of the career-advancing bouts he craves.

“When I win,” Gordon declares, “I think I should get a top-15 [opponent]. I’ll deserve it at that point.”