Charles Oliveira and Max Holloway first squared off in 2015. |
Josh Schaefer/Sherdog.com
Vitor
Miranda has an interesting perspective when it comes to
Charles
Oliveira’s game plan for his upcoming fight with Max
Holloway.
Miranda, the
UFC veteran who is now a commentator for the promotion in
Brazil, recently gave his analysis of the BMF title fight between
Oliveira and Holloway scheduled to headline
UFC 326 on March 7 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
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“I believe that if Charles goes after Holloway in the striking
exchanges like he did with [Ilia] Topuria, it won’t be a mistake,”
Miranda recently told Sherdog.com. “Topuria finishes the fight with
one strike, while Holloway needs to impose his volume of strikes to
break down his opponent. In fact, Charles has heavier hands than
him and can finish the fight with one strike. Besides, by going for
close-range combat, “do Bronxs” has a better chance of taking it to
grappling, where he is clearly superior. Holloway has the advantage
if he can keep the fight from mid- to long range.”
BMF Worthy
Despite his tactical analysis, Miranda believes that both fighters
will end up deviating from the tactical plans drawn up by their
teams, delivering a classic BMF fight.
“Both are extremely aggressive strikers who don’t back down,” he
said. “I think this fight will not reach the fifth round. This duel
has everything to be the fight of the year, doing justice to the
BMF belt.”
Oliveira vs. Holloway will be in a rematch of a fight that took
place in 2015, when both were still competing at featherweight. It
ended with a victory for the American by TKO in the first round
after the Brazilian suffered an injury. In the ensuing years, both
won UFC belts. Holloway was featherweight champion in 2017 and
defended his title four times. Oliveira moved up to the lightweight
division where he became champion in 2021, having defended the
title twice (against Poirier and Gaethje). Despite submitting
Gaethje, the Brazilian lost the belt in his second defense for
failing to make weight.