After the heyday of Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov, the new UFC lightweight division has yet to produce a champion. The reason is that the champions have continually been overshadowed by their opponents. Does this happen to Charles Oliveira? Will he successfully defend his title?
Charles Oliveira is about to confront Dustin Poirier
Photo: mmafighting
The audience at UFC 269 will see the pair of lightweight belts with the most identical skills in recent years: good hand strength, unhesitating double strike, and a strong jutsu history. With the expectation of winning his 10th race in a row, Charles Oliveira will face formidable competition. UFC 269 is set to take place on the Saturday of December 11.
Optimistic Charles Oliveira to defend the champion
With a series of amazing stats, "Do Bronx" Charles Oliveira claimed the championship left by Khabib Nurmagomedov: a run of 9 consecutive wins, of which 8 times the match was finished early (5 squeezes, 3 times KO/TKO). Standing next to his BJJ 3rd degree black belt, he eventually demonstrated his proficiency in both.
Dustin Poirier- A tough opponent?
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Photo: dazn
Despite this, Oliveira's legacy is still eclipsed by Dustin Poirier, who has defeated Conor McGregor twice. The fact that Dustin missed the chance to compete for the title in a third fight with Conor resulted in the perception that Charles Oliveira was fortunate to only have to face a newcomer like Michael Chandler, a perception that persists to this day.
Dustin Poirier got encouragement when he returned to the sport, partly since his standing ability is currently recognized as the strongest lightweight in the world. Conor McGregor was defeated twice, Justin Gaethje was knocked out, and Dan Hooker was surpassed.
Along with his jutsu history and high tolerance to wrestling (61 percent in the UFC), the American boxer is also renowned, which can make Oliveira's BJJ forte tough to deploy. As the champion does not suppose so: "All you guys that think he’s No. 1, watch his last fight and watch my last fight, see what I’m good at and what he’s good at, and match it all up to see what happens."
Dustin Poirier and his jutsu talents
Dustin Poirier was knocked to the ground four times by Australian boxer Dan Hooker, who also spent most of the control time on the floor in the following three rounds.
To deal with Dan Hooker's knock-down scenarios, Dustin Poirier needed jutsu talents.
This may lead Oliveira to feel that taking the opponent to the ground is simple for him, but Oliveira should also consider Dustin's ability to turn the situation around by launching four attempts to crush Dan Hooker.
What did Charles claim about Poirier's flaws?
Oliveira believes he can finish her rival on the ground like he has done 14 times in the UFC.
"Many people say I have to beat Dustin to prove I’m the champion. I am the champion. I won [the belt] earlier this year and I’ll defend my belt now."
"If he trades on the feet with me, you know I’m hitting hard, brother. It will be fire on the 11th. I have firepower in my hands, I have my jiu-jitsu. I respect him a lot, but I want to remain champion, I want to keep this belt here. I couldn’t care less what others say or criticize."
"Strikers took him down way too easily, and you know what happens if I take him down".
In his championship defense against Dustin Poirier, Charles Oliveira is keen to display his ability.
