5 keys to victory for Charles Oliveira at UFC 274
Although Charles Oliveira has been stripped of the UFC lightweight title, the former champion will still be fighting in the main event this weekend. The Brazilian originally tipped the scale a pound too heavy and, after an allotted hour to lose the weight, he was still a half-pound over the 155lb championship limit.
#UFC274 weigh-in results: Champ Charles Oliveira (@CharlesDoBronxs) – (155.5)
* Oliveira MISSES WEIGHT on second attempt. He is likely to be stripped of his UFC lightweight title.
Full results: bit.ly/3shJDmq https://t.co/rx32bs09bV
Several fighters on the card have made some noise regarding the scale used backstage possibly being off, while others have speculated that electronic scales should be used moving forward as they're more accurate. Regardless, Charles Oliveira and Justin Gaethje will still headline UFC 274.
A victory would place 'Do Bronx' as the No.1 contender and he'll then face the next in line. However, he's got a tall mountain to climb before he thinks any more about this. 'The Highlight' is as hungry as ever coming into his second attempt at the undisputed lightweight title. The Brazilian will need to be the best version of himself in order to have his hand raised this weekend.
Here are five keys to victory for Charles Oliveira to beat Justin Gaethje.
#5. Charles Oliveira must avoid a brawl
The strides that Charles Oliveira has made in his striking is rather impressive. He entered the UFC as a fighter with a solid submission game, but he's now an enigma of a matchup for anyone in the division no matter where the fight takes place.
es.pn/319LEa1"Easily one of the nicest left hooks I've ever seen in the Octagon." 😤
@dc_mma looks back on Charles Oliveira's KO of Michael Chandler in the latest episode of Detail ➡️ es.pn/319LEa1 https://t.co/T87jcq3h8O
Though his stand-up game is great overall, he'll need to keep it as clean as possible. The more technical, the better. Gaethje thrives in chaos, and that's the style of fight that he'll be looking to have at UFC 274.
For as long as this fight is a standing affair, the Brazilian will need to be diligent in not entertaining a slugfest. He's a heavy hitter in his own right, but he'll just be giving Gaethje more of an opportunity to land a concluding shot if he allows himself to fight sloppy.