An acclaimed MMA head coach believes that Charles Oliveira can capitalize on one of his opponent’s weaknesses.
UFC 317 is just hours away where in the main event, a new UFC lightweight champion will be crowned when Charles Oliveira faces Ilia Topuria.
While Oliveira is a former champion with many impressive wins under his belt, he’s widely considered to be the underdog in this matchup.
A lot of people point to the destructive power of Topuria, and the fact that he’s never been beaten, as reasons why ‘El Matador’ will come out on top.
The coach of the great Georges St-Pierre recently provided a breakdown of the matchup where he took on the role of devil’s advocate.
Firas Zahabi believes that Charles Oliveira can threaten Ilia Topuria with head kicks and knees at UFC 317
In a recent video posted on the Tristar Gym YouTube channel, Firas Zahabi looked to explain where Charles Oliveira can win the vacant lightweight title at UFC 317.
Zahabi made it clear that he’s picking Ilia Topuria to win but he was still able to make a case for why ‘Do Bronx’ can’t be counted out on June 28.
He believes that while Topuria is the favorite for a reason, it has been overlooked just how dangerous Oliveira is, claiming that the fans are in for a treat on Saturday night.
“Oliveira is going to bring hell. He’s not going to make it easy for Topuria.”
Zahabi went on to point out where he believes that Oliveira can capitalize on their different styles by making the most of his height advantage.
The coach of Georges St-Pierre made reference to the one time that we have seen Topuria in trouble inside the Octagon, which is when he was dropped by a head kick from Jai Herbert in his only other lightweight bout.
“Here’s where I see the damage… Oliveira fights really, really tall. Topuria fights really, really short. When you have two guys fighting, one of them fights very tall, one of them fights very short, the taller fighter has a very good option to knee. Head kicks and knees are going to be the problem.
“Now, we all saw Jai Herbert, he kicked Topuria to the neck. You saw a tall guy who fights kind of tall fighting a short guy who fights short, kicks Topuria to the neck. Topuria was in loads of trouble. It could have went the other way… Oliveira is going to try to exploit that.”
Firas Zahabi predicts that Charles Oliveira will open the main event with a big, flashy strike
In his series of lightweight title fights, fans saw an incredibly aggressive and entertaining Charles Oliveira who would often find himself in firefights.
While that may not be the best idea against an opponent like Ilia Topuria, Firas Zahabi believes that ‘Do Bronx’ will start their fight with a big, statement attack.
In keeping with his prediction of Oliveira threatening with head kicks and knees, Zahabi stated that the Brazilian will run at his opponent once the opening bell sounds.
He added that Topuria will evade the strike, but this will still allow Oliveira to set the tone.
“Oliveira, round one starts, I’m telling you already what Oliveira’s going to do. Oliveira is going to run across the Octagon, he’s going to jump and he’s going to do a scissor teep kick to the face or he’s going to do a scissor knee to the face. He’s going to try to attack linear and run at Topuria and jump scissor knee or jump scissor kick. He’s going to try to catch him cold.”