Former UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira recently shared his thoughts on Ilia Topuria’s ground game ahead of their clash at UFC 317. Oliveira lost his title to Islam Makhachev at UFC 280 and the Russian made 4 successful title defences before vacating his title and moving up to welterweight. Oliveira holds the most submissions in UFC history and has claimed that he isn’t getting fazed by the hype surrounding Topuria.
‘El Matador’ vacated his featherweight crown after beating Max Holloway. Topuria wanted to face Makhachev but the fight didn’t materialise. Speaking to MMA Fighting, Oliveira took him to at Topuria’s trash talk and raised questions on his grappling game. He said:
“We know [Topuria] has aggressive boxing and throws two, three hands walking forward. He’s very dangerous. He knocked out Max Holloway in his last fight, so he’s dangerous, right? Everybody says his jiu-jitsu is good. He hasn’t used that yet in the UFC, but they say it’s good. Honestly, I’m only worried about what I can bring to the cage and how happy I am with this opportunity to add something gigantic to my legacy.”
Oliveira is one of the legends of the sport and a future Hall of Famer. The Brazilian is looking to become a two time lightweight champion but will have to take the undefeated record of Topuria in achieving the feat.
Charles Oliveira isn’t interested in trash talk
UFC lightweight contender Charles Oliveira has hit back at his critics and insisted he isn’t interested in talking trash to his opponents. Oliveira has changed the trajectory of his career from being labeled as a ‘quiter’ at featherweight to becoming the lightweight champion. The Brazilian always shows respect and admiration for his opponents. Speaking to MMA Fighting, about his dislike for trash talk, he said:
“I’m not the type of guy that has to keep posting, that has to keep talking. I know what I have to do. The fight is on [June 28], so I have to stay focused and ready. I have two weeks to make it happen… ‘If you talked, you’d make more money’. So what? I don’t know how to do that, to talk like that. I don’t know how to sell a fight like that. It’s not my way of promoting.”
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