Charles Oliveira and Dustin Poirier
With Conor McGregor vs Dustin Poirier 3 done and dusted, it is time for the prediction of the expected fight between Charles Oliveira and Dustin Poirier
Dustin Poirier gained the upper hand in his rivalry with Conor McGregor. ‘The Diamond’ earned a first-round TKO victory due to a doctor stoppage in the main event of UFC 264.
After starting the fight as the aggressor, McGregor looked like he would cause problems for Poirier during the course of the fight.
However, Poirier began gaining control after the fight went to the ground in the third minute. A failed guillotine choke attempt from McGregor allowed Poirier to take advantage of the grounded McGregor.
‘The Diamond’ began exploding with a ton of ground strikes, primarily elbows. Though McGregor ate several blows, he withstood the storm.
Just as the 1st round was about to end, both the fighters got back on their feet, and in the most unexpected and unlikeliest of moments, McGregor broke his left ankle after landing awkwardly on the canvas.
The round ended as McGregor notified that he had snapped his angle. After a quick and thorough check, he was declared unfit to continue, and the fight was awarded to Poirier.
Not the way both the fighters would have wanted the fight to end, but Poirier would take that W.
With that win, Poirier settled the scores in his rivalry with McGregor (at least momentarily) and also earned a title shot against the lightweight champion Charles Oliveira.
Charles Oliveira won the lightweight title a couple of months ago. He beat UFC newcomer Michael Chandler in the second round of their fight in the main event of UFC 262.
By winning the LW title, Oliveira became the first lightweight champion after Khabib Nurmagomedov, and the first Brazilian lightweight champion since Rafael dos Anjos in 2016.
Now, it is almost certain that Oliveira will be defending his title against Dustin Poirier. So, how will a fight between the two go?
Dustin Poirier is in the form of his life
Charles Oliveira is a dangerous fighter style-wise when it comes to most of his opponents. The Brazilian holds a third-degree black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and is no slouch when it comes to knockout power as well (very evident during his win over Chandler at UFC 262).
Poirier, on the other hand, has elite ground skills too. ‘The Diamond’ also holds a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. And besides that, he has been running riot in the UFC. He is in the form of his life.
How would a fight between Dustin Poirier and Charles Oliveira go?
Poirier is a heavy lightweight. The man is too wide for a lightweight. Just after the weigh-ins he loads up and weighs in, at least 20 pounds heavier on the day of the fight. This, coupled with his elite grappling skills can very well challenge Oliveira’s dangerous ground game.
However, when it comes to striking, Poirier is an elite boxer. Oliveira might be slightly better on the ground, but he would nowhere come close to Poirier’s boxing. Hence, Poirier has equally powerful boxing (striking) and ground game as well.
Given the form, he is in, and his determined mindset, he will most probably beat the Brazilian to get that ever-eluding title.
Prediction: Dustin Poirier to beat Charles Oliveira via. TKO (Round 3)
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