Charles Oliveira defeated Michael Chandler at UFC 262 to become the Lightweight champion (UFC)
Charles Oliveira will be the underdog in his title defense fight against either Conor McGregor or Dustin Poirier
Oliveira became the 11th lightweight champion in the history of the UFC after he beat Michael Chandler at UFC 262.
The Brazilian poleaxed the newcomer in the second round, after a poor showing the first. He is now expected to defend his belt against the winner of the scheduled trilogy fight between McGregor and Poirier.
McGregor and Poirier are set to face off at UFC 264 on the 10th of July, later this year in front of a packed Las Vegas crowd.
Now, despite being the lightweight champion, Oliveira has opened as the underdog in all the bookmakers odds.
UFC veteran Matt Serra shared his thoughts on ‘Do Bronx’ being the underdog against McGregor and Poirier. In an interview with Mick Swick from ‘Real Quick with Mike Swick’, Serra shed some light upon why the Brazilian is being considered as an underdog.
Serra said:
“He has a lot of ways to win versus either guys. But, we have also seen him get finished. In his last fight we just saw him get hurt. So, I can understand people thinking, ‘alright, Conor must just be accurate enough to get him outta there.'”
Oliveira clinched the title previously held by Khabib Nurmagomedov. The Russian great had vacated the belt he was holding, after officially retiring from the sport.
Oliveira recently revealed in an exclusive interview with MMA Fighting that he was asked to ‘take shots’ at the Dagestani following his victory at UFC 262.
‘Do Bronx’ said:
“Many people told me to wear a shirt taking shots at [Nurmagomedov] or say something about him in the end.” [Via MMA Fighting]
However, Oliveira revealed that he never had such intentions, since he had a ton of respect for the ‘Eagle’.
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