Dustin Poirier Touts Charles Oliveira As The Most Dangerous Grappler In UFC History: ‘Numbers Don’t Lie’
Ahead of UFC 269 main event on Saturday, incoming lightweight title challenger, Dustin Poirier believes reigning gold holder and upcoming opponent, Charles Oliveira is the most dangerous grappling force the Octagon has ever seen in its entire history.
Headlining this weekend’s T-Mobile Arena event, former interim lightweight champion, Poirier, the #1 ranked contender, challenges Oliveira for undisputed lightweight spoils — attempting to finally cement his status as an undisputed champion.
Previously challenging for undisputed spoils, then-interim gold holder, Poirier met with the now-retired, Khabib Nurmagomedov in September 2019 in Abu Dhabi, UAE — dropping a third round rear-naked choke loss in a title unification clash.
In the time since, however, the Lafayette native has firmly clawed his way back to title contention with a unanimous decision win over Dan Hooker, as well as a splendid 2020 which features a pair of victories over former undisputed featherweight and lightweight titleholder, Conor McGregor.
Attempting to cap off his memorable annum with lightweight title success, Poirier meets with the surging Oliveira who is in the midst of a nine-fight undefeated run. And Poirier has backed the most prolific grappling in promotional history as also the most dangerous ground fighter the organization has ever had on its books.
“He’s (Charles Oliveira) as dangerous as any of the other top guys I’ve fought, just in different areas,” Dustin Poirier told assembled media during his fight week availability. “His submission game — numbers don’t lie. He is the most dangerous (fighter) ever to hit the canvas in the UFC.“
“We didn’t put that aside in training camp,” Dustin Poirier explained. “We really focused on the fence and fight IQ on the ground, where I’m at in the round and risks I need to take. He’s very dangerous.“
Sao Paulo submission ace, Oliveira holds the record for most submission victories in the history of the UFC — securing his stunning fourteenth separate Octagon submission stoppage in the main event of UFC Fight Night Brasilia back in March of last year courtesy of a third round guillotine win over Kevin Lee.
Dustin Poirier believes any chinks in Charles Oliveira’s mentality will be on display on Saturday
Oliveira, who clinched the lightweight title back in May with a rallying second round knockout over Michael Chandler has had his durability and will to continue questioned even during his winning spree. And Poirier believes if the Brazilian is ever going to crumble — it’ll occur this weekend.
“If it’s in there, we’ll find out,” Dustin Poirier said. “But I can’t bank on it. We’ll see. He showed grit in his last fight against (Michael) Chandler. He got hurt, almost got finished, came back, and knocked the guy out. Your last fight is on the one I go off of and he showed championship grit.” (Transcribed by MMA Fighting)
