Charles Oliveira has morphed into a near-perfect fighter
It’s nearly unforgivable to overlook weight in a world championship struggle. Charles Oliveira missed weight on Friday by a half-pound. That usually would earn him a well-deserved roasting from UFC president Dana White, notably since he’s a multi-time offender.
Oliveira, although, earned himself a little bit of a reprieve from the tongue lashing by what he did during the 202 seconds he was in the Octagon with Justin Gaethje on Saturday in the principle occasion of UFC 274 on the Footprint Middle in Phoenix, Arizona.
He placed on a memorable present, dropping Gaethje and getting dropped in a frenetic three minute, 22-second bout that ended together with his arms squeezing the life out of Gaethje within the first spherical with a rear bare choke.
Oliveira was stripped of the title when the bout started, however earned the appropriate to be the No. 1 contender in his subsequent struggle for the now-vacant title.
Gaethje’s often known as “The Spotlight,” however Oliveira is doing sufficient to share that nickname with him as he not solely reels off spectacular win after spectacular win, however does it in jaw-dropping type.
Gaethje got here out aggressively as per traditional, solely to be clipped on the chin and wobbled by an Oliveira proper hand seconds into the struggle. If Gaethje thought he was going to have the ability to steamroll Oliveira like a bull charging a weapon-less matador, he discovered within the first 15 seconds of the struggle that wouldn’t be the case.
“He’s a man who pushes ahead and I all the time push ahead,” Oliveira stated. “I knew this was going to occur. I’m like a conflict tank. I carry on shifting ahead. I knew that I used to be going to get hit and I knew I used to be going to hit him. As I stated a few occasions, ‘Who needs it extra?’ All of it got here right down to who wished it extra.”
Oliveira isn’t simply the best submission specialist in UFC historical past. He’s a whole, although nonetheless evolving, blended martial artist and his hanging is now as a lot of a weapon as his submissions.
Although he scored just one official knockdown, Gaethje put Oliveira down twice within the first minute of the bout.
Years in the past, which may have been sufficient to complete Oliveira. However this model of Oliveira is giving off a definite Anderson Silva-in-his-prime vibe. The previous middleweight champion was a harmful finisher who might win fights in quite a lot of methods. Equally, Oliveira not solely has the most effective submission recreation within the UFC, his hanging has change into a hazard in and of itself. He has been blessed with as many weapons as an MMA fighter might dream of getting.
His adventures on the scales have been mentioned advert nauseam by this level. He weighed in on an unofficial scale on Thursday, tweeted that it hit 155 kilos, stated he didn’t eat or drink a factor after that however when he formally weighed on Friday, he was a half-pound over.
He, and lots of of his supporters, tried to level to an issue with the size. But when Oliveira was on weight Thursday night time, as he claimed, why was he the final fighter to weigh in, slightly than the primary? If he actually was on weight, he might have weighed in first and rehydrated a lot sooner. Gaethje weighed early and tweeted a photograph that confirmed he’d already placed on 10 kilos earlier than Oliveira had even weighed.
The UFC places out an unofficial scale for fighters to verify their weight earlier than the weigh-in, which occurs on a calibrated scale. White stated that’s the place the burden issues started.
“Now we have this subject the place guys come out and so they begin checking the size the night time earlier than,” White stated. “All of the Europeans and guys from different components of the world do kilos, so all of them begin f***ing with the size to have a look at kilos. However who is aware of? There’s so many shifting components to this beast of a machine we run each week, however we’ve acquired to have a safety guard in there the place the size is now.”
Because it turned out, although, it didn’t matter.
The UFC introduced Friday that he’d be stripped of the title when the bell rang Saturday, however that if he gained, he’d be the No. 1 contender to struggle for the vacant belt.
On the finish of the day, the additional half-pound was costly- — he was fined 30 p.c of his purse and he gained’t maintain the belt if it’s a draw the subsequent time, as a champion would do — however he’s nonetheless in nice place.
Oliveira has now gained 11 fights in a row over 4 years and has completed all however one in every of them. In his final three fights, he knocked out Michael Chandler within the second, submitted Dustin Poirier within the third and submitted Gaethje within the first.
He’s acquired to be closing in on welterweight champion Kamaru Usman within the legendary pound-for-pound race.
He additionally took a little bit of satisfaction after forcing Gaethje to faucet out in his second consecutive title struggle. Gaethje submitted to Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 254.
Earlier than the struggle, attempting to hype the gross sales of the PPV, he taunted Oliveira.
“I consider deep down, he is aware of his means out, and that is to stop each time he will get hit too many occasions too onerous,” Gaethje stated at media day. “Deep down, as soon as it occurred as soon as, it’s going to occur once more. And I am the proper man to point out it to him.”
Oliveira wasn’t the one to stop and he’s displaying no indicators of slowing.
Whether or not he fights Islam Makhachev, Michael Chandler or Conor McGregor subsequent, you’ll be able to depend on two issues: It’s going to be the most effective fights you ever noticed and Oliveira goes to do one thing to shock and amaze you.
This man who as soon as misplaced 4 bouts in a six-fight span has morphed right into a near-perfect fighter. He’s gained 11 in a row, most of them spectacularly, and he’s solely getting higher.
He went via loads earlier than this struggle, however he delivered loads, as nicely.
He’s established himself doubtless at this level as one of many best lightweights in historical past. And he’s nonetheless on an upward assault.
Who is aware of how far this thrill trip will go, however depend me in for the remainder of it.
It’s rattling enjoyable to observe.
