He was set to make his divisional debut against Eric Wisely. Cerrone defeated Oliveira via upset first round technical knockout.Īfter a lengthy hiatus, Oliveira decided to drop down to the UFC's featherweight division. Instead, he agreed to step in to replace an injured Paul Taylor against another replacement in former top WEC contender Donald Cerrone. Only a few weeks later Oliveira was involved in talks to face Joe Lauzon at UFC 132. Both men seemed to agree that a rematch was inevitable for the future. The fight's result was overturned to a no-contest a few days later because of an illegal knee landed by Oliveira shortly before the submission finish. Oliveira next faced fellow prospect Nik Lentz at UFC On Versus 4, handing him his first UFC loss via controversial second-round rear-naked choke submission. Miller handed Oliveira his first loss via first-round kneebar submission. Oliveira next faced wily veteran and long-time contender Jim Miller at UFC 124. Escudero was cut after the loss, the first time a true TUF winner had been cut. The fight did not disappoint, with Oliveira dominating Escudero up until choking him out in the third round with a beautiful standing rear-naked choke. God-damn, I fucking love the lightweight division. The fight has the potential for Submission of the Night but just as much potential for Fight of the Night. The fight will most likely be the toughest test to date for both men. He is now set to replace Matt Wiman against Efrain Escudero. He most recently made his UFC debut defeating Darren Elkins via an armbar submission in forty-one seconds. 3 Comeback at Featherweight After Injury.However, he prefers to strike early in his fights until he gets hurt - and that tendency could end up costing him here, given his lack of durability.

Optimally, after fighting from the clinch to a body lock, Charles should look to grapple right away – and try to take Gaethje down or look to take his back up against the fence. Still, once you can get him down to the mat, it appears that he offers little resistance – and Charles might be able to pass his guard with relative ease. Gaethje is an excellent counter-wrestler with solid first-level takedown defense (73%). If Gaethje can hammer that lead leg, it will create openings upstairs and limit Oliveira’s ability to get this fight to the mat - where he should have a massive advantage. And if Charles can land shots to the body – consistently – while crowding Gaethje against the fence – or forcing him to be on his bike – I expect Justin to wilt rather quickly.Ĭonversely, Gaethje can slow Oliveira’s effectiveness by hammering him with early leg kicks -which is something that Poirier never did, despite turning the tide on Conor McGregor in the second fight with calf kicks.

Many consider Gaethje to have superior cardio in this matchup – but I don’t necessarily agree, even though Oliveira has never been to a fourth round in his career. Moreover, Oliveira will put in attritional work - with teep kicks to the body and knees in the clinch - that can serve to tire Gaethje rather quickly. Gaethje rarely cedes control over the center of the octagon, but he does tire when placed under constant pressure and when he’s forced to retreat. Still, his striking prowess and tendency to pressure could ultimately cost him against Gaethje, a superior boxer who fires off lethal combinations and capitalizes by countering overly aggressive competition. Oliveira managed to recover in both of his most recent wins against Michael Chandler and Dustin Poirier -before bouncing back to finish those opponents. Charles doesn’t move his head off the center line in extended striking exchanges, and he reacts very poorly after absorbing clean shots - often ending up on wobbly legs or getting knocked down. I consider Oliveira the more technical and diverse striker, but his durability is a serious concern. To be blunt, I expect a violent fair, and I’m betting the unders in this bout. Who has the edge in this highly volatile title fight? Below, I’ll provide my analysis and projections for Saturday’s matchup and utilize those factors to bet on the UFC 274 main event. Oddsmakers anticipate a similarly violent outcome on Saturday, setting the bout as high as -600 (85.7% implied) to end by finish. These fighters have entered a UFC octagon 36 times, and 32 of those bouts (88.8%) have ended inside the distance. Two of the most exciting action fighters in the MMA world square off for the UFC lightweight championship on Saturday night - former interim champion Justin Gaethje faces current champion Charles Oliveira in Gaethje’s home state of Arizona. Only Justin Gaethje is eligible to win the belt on Saturday. EDITOR’S NOTE: After failing to make the lightweight limit, Charles Oliveira vacated his title on the scales.

Charles oliveira