"Very tough boxing with a very heavy hand" - Charles Oliveira identifies Justin Gaethje's strengths
Charles Oliveira has put forth his take on his next opponent Justin Gaethje’s strengths. During an interview with Ag. Fight, Oliveira was asked for his thoughts on Justin Gaethje as a fighter and athlete. 'Do Bronx' responded by stating:
“He’s a very tough guy, has a very heavy hand… A guy who walks forward all the time. He likes to fight, he’s a brawler, he likes to put up his hands and go to fight. He’s a guy who takes it hard with his hand, right? He’s a guy who deserves all respect in the world, just like I respect all fighters. He is among the top 5 in the world and will hardly leave there. He’s a guy who moves forward all the time, has good wrestling, boxing… I believe this is it, a very tough boxing with a very heavy hand.”
Watch the video below (*Translation courtesy: Brazilian MMA Legends YouTube channel):
Additionally, Oliveira highlighted that while he has enormous respect for his opponents and believes in being humble, he isn’t worried about the threat they pose. Instead, ‘Do Bronx’ focuses on what he can bring into the octagon.
Furthermore, the 32-year-old pointed out that Gaethje was knocked out by their mutual opponent Dustin Poirier. Oliveira added that 'The Highlight' also had a three-round war against Michael Chandler, another mutual opponent.
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However, Oliveira alluded to the fact that he beat Poirier via submission and knocked out Chandler. The Brazilian MMA stalwart thereby insinuated that he performed much better than Gaethje did against the aforementioned opponents.
‘Do Bronx’ reiterated that he respects Gaethje, who’s an incredibly tough opponent. That said, Oliveira is focused on keeping himself well and happy and is confident that he’ll retain his title.
Watch Charles Oliveira’s complete interview with Ag. Fight in the video below:
Islam Makhachev doesn’t view Charles Oliveira as a tough outing
UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira is set to defend his title against Justin Gaethje at UFC 274 on May 7th. The consensus is that the Oliveira-Gaethje winner will then defend the title against the winner of a fight between top contenders Islam Makhachev and Beneil Dariush.
During a UFC media scrum last month, Islam Makhachev praised Oliveira’s overall grappling skills but claimed that his wrestling was far too superior for the Brazilian.
Referring to a possible showdown against Charles Oliveira, Makhachev said:
"It's gonna be good fight because we almost have same style, you know, he have good grappling skills, he have good striking and it's going to be a good fight. I don't think it's going to be hard for me.”
Watch the full interview below: