Chael Sonnen claims Charles Oliveira will 'smother' Dustin Poirier on the ground like Khabib Nurmagomedov did

Chael Sonnen (left), Charles Oliveira (top right), Khabib Nurmagomedov and Dustin Poirier (bottom right) [Image credits: @sonnench, @charlesdobronxs on Instagram]

Chael Sonnen has the utmost respect for Charles Oliveira's ability to outmaneuver any opponent that engages him on the ground. Moreover, he believes 'do Bronx' holds a significant advantage in the ground game over Dustin Poirier ahead of their fight at UFC 269.

'The American Gangster' thinks Charles Oliveira is going to smother Poirier much like Khabib Nurmagomedov did to 'The Diamond' in their fight at UFC 242. In a recent episode of Beyond the Fight, Chael Sonnen said:

"I think it's unlikely that Poirier takes Oliveira down. First off, I think that is going to be very hard to do. I don't know that I believe that Dustin, as great of a fighter that I think he is, I don't know if I think he's that great with MMA wrestling. It's good, it's a real threat, he can turn to it when he needs it, but I don't think he can go out there with a game plan heavy of taking him down... If Oliveira can get on top of Poirier, I don't believe Poirier can get up. I believe Oliveira can do a lot like what Khabib did, which is to smother him."

Watch the full episode of Beyond The Fight with Chael Sonnen below:

Khabib Nurmagomedov scored seven takedowns in his fight against Dustin Poirier, before finishing the Louisiana native in the third round via rear-naked choke. 'The Eagle' controlled much of the fight before the finish, even prompting Poirier to tell his cornermen between rounds that he couldn't get Nurmagomedov off of him.

After a dominant showing from Khabib Nurmagomedov, and a slow burning technical tussle between Ramos and Makhachev, we review what we learned about Dagestan's most successful exports.

Lessons Learned from UFC 242:

patreon.com/posts/29834253 https://t.co/nIyAgUBExI

Charles Oliveira has the most submission victories in UFC history

Charles Oliveira holds many records in the UFC, including the most submission victories (14) and the most finishes (17).

When Oliveira submitted Christos Giagos at UFC FIght Night 137 in September 2018, he went past the record formerly shared by Brazilian jiu-jitsu legends Royce Gracie and Demian Maia. That was his 11th submission win. Since then, the Brazilian has secured three more submission victories against Jim Miller, David Teymur and Kevin Lee.

Charles Oliveira vs Christos Giagos
(Submission, rear-naked choke) https://t.co/OngWpQehYi

Charles Oliveira will look to add to his tally when he steps into the octagon to face Dustin Poirier this weekend at UFC 269.