According to his countrymen, former
Ultimate Fighting Championship champ Charles
Oliveira will not disappoint come Saturday.
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With Jon
Jones vs. Stipe
Miocic drawing up most of the attention for UFC
309, the co-headlining affair between Oliveira (34-10, 1 NC)
and Michael
Chandler (23-8) is flying a bit under the radar. The two first
met at UFC 262, with Chandler posing a significant challenge to “Do
Bronx.” Before getting knocked out early in the second frame, the
ex-Bellator MMA champion dominated the first five
minutes while earning a 10-8 score on two judges’ scorecards.
On Saturday inside of Madison Square Garden in New York, the two
will clash again, with the victor likely earning the opportunity to
fight for the lightweight belt. While no title is on the line this
time, the organization has granted it five-round status. Sherdog
spoke to multiple Brazilian specialists about this rematch, with
UFC fighters and trainers weighing in on the exciting
collision.
Caio
Borralho, UFC fighter: “Chandler has a lot of
wrestling quality and KO power, but sometimes he is kind of dumb
when it comes to tactical plans, always putting [on a] show [while]
forgetting his best weapon. Actually, even if he takes Charles
down, ‘Do Bronx’ gets really comfortable with his back on the mat.
I think everything will depend on Charles’ motivation, because he
got the bonus record, and already got the belt. He has absolutely
nothing to prove. Maybe his son who was just born can be his
biggest motivation as he said. [On] the other hand, Chandler knows
that all his future plans depend on winning the revenge next
Saturday.”
Gilbert
Burns, UFC fighter and former teammate of Chandler:
“I’ve helped Chandler for his first fight with Charles, but we
didn’t train together at this camp. I can tell Chandler was in
wonderful shape in the first one, but this time I see him even more
dangerous for three reasons: First, he is away from the Octagon for
two years, [which means] two years without being knocked down,
[which] can be really good to improve your punch absorption;
second, he kept himself in very good shape without getting hurt;
and three, he knows that this will be his last opportunity, what
surely made him train harder than ever, making him even more
dangerous.”
Rafael
Cordeiro, Kings MMA head coach: “The first fight
Charles got a beautiful KO, I see him [taking] the back and
submitting Chandler in [this second fight].”
Carlos
Barreto, former UFC fighter and UFC Fight Pass
commentator: “I see Charles frustrating Chandler’s takedowns,
[taking] his back and submitting [Chandler]. I believe so because
Chandler always turns on the brawler mode, but if he is able to
follow the right tactical game, doing what Tsarukyan and Islam did,
he can [have] a totally different fight than the first one. But
concerning the way Chandler always fights; I believe he won’t be
able to do so for 25 minutes. I believe Charles will submit and [go
up two wins to none] Saturday.”