"He is really tough" - Charles Oliveira discusses how he predicted Ilia Topuria's KO win against Max Holloway, offers words of advice to 'Blessed'
Charles Oliveira had a recent sitdown with Full Violence, during which he spoke to Aly Mac. As the pair conversed, 'do Bronx' was asked for his thoughts on Ilia Topuria's successful featherweight title defense against Max Holloway at UFC 308.
To no one's surprise, Oliveira was nothing less than complimentary, claiming to have predicted the knockout due, in part, to Topuria's growth as a fighter.
"When I was talking about it with my friends, I said that [Ilia] Topuria could knock out [Max Holloway], because he is a guy who is on the rise, he is really tough, he is a guy who has been growing a lot, and for me he would win by knockout."
When asked if he had any words of wisdom for Holloway, Oliveira said the following:
"We are athletes, we are human beings. Anything can happen. You should simply go back home, keep training and do what you do best: fight and finish."
Check out Charles Oliveira's praise for Ilia Topuria (3:39):
Topuria's ufc-knockout-month-october-2024-ilia-topuria-s-stunning-left-hook-hand-max-holloway-first-ever-ko-loss" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-is-sponsored="false">win over Holloway has led to conversations about him placing on the pound-for-pound ranking given that he has now authored two back-to-back knockouts over all-time great featherweights.
Even the likes of Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje failed to dent it. Furthermore, Holloway is a former featherweight champion with three title defenses to his name. Meanwhile, his other win over Alexander Volkanovski, who he dethroned for the belt, was similarly impressive.
Volkanovski had five title defenses and was inserting himself into the conversation about the greatest featherweight of all time. While he has only just started his reign over the featherweight division, Topuria has now set his sights on the UFC lightweight division.
Charles Oliveira is an opponent that the Spaniard is targeting
Charles Oliveira has recently been identified as an ideal opponent for Ilia Topuria, who is planning a move to lightweight. The Spanish knockout artist was interviewed on 'El Partidazo de COPE,' a Spanish sports radio show. During the sitdown, he singled out 'do Bronx' as his next foe.
"Well, I would like to go up to the next division obviously, and since Islam [Makhachev], the champion in that division, is going to fight now in January, and he's not going to be ready for April, May, I'd like to fight the number one contender that the division has right now. That is Charles Oliveira."
Check out Ilia Topuria calling out Charles Oliveira (18:31):
Oliveira is himself coming off an impressive unanimous decision win, having authored a dominant performance over Michael Chandler at UFC 309. A bout between them could produce fireworks if booked.