3 potential outcomes of a fight between Charles Oliveira and Conor McGregor

Modified May 17, 2021 18:16 GMT

Conor McGregor and UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira

Newly crowned UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira will have a keen eye on the UFC 264 bout between Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor on July 10.

The trilogy fight will, in all likelihood, decide the #1 contender and Oliveira's first title defense. While a Poirier win will guarantee him another shot at the strap, McGregor's immense marketability and status as former lightweight champ will push him towards the belt even if he currently has only one win in the division.

Oliveira has wasted no time in calling out McGregor, who is always in high demand because of the sheer weight of PPV numbers he consistently rakes in. Here are three ways in which a potential fight between two UFC lightweight champions - current and former - could play out.

#3 Charles Oliveira outlasts Conor McGregor and edges a decision

UFC 262: Charles Oliveira v Michael Chandler

Conor McGregor isn't known for his cardio. He's never been able to whip himself into five-round shape, especially at lightweight and welterweight.

While the Irishman has looked his physical best at 155 lbs, he was completely exhausted by the time he entered the fourth round of a grappling-heavy fight against Khabib Nurmagomedov. And against Nate Diaz at 170 lbs, McGregor gassed rapidly in the first fight before somehow finding a second wind in the rematch.

Oliveira, on the other hand, has never been to the fourth round of a fight in his professional career. But recent displays against Tony Ferguson and Michael Chandler have indicated that he's more than willing to push a relentless pace right from the start, due to evident confidence in his conditioning.

If Oliveira manages to negate McGregor's knockout power in the first couple of rounds, he could take the fight deep, tire his opponent out and edge a decision. But that's easier said than done......

#2 Conor McGregor connects early and puts Charles Oliveira away

Ahead of Conor McGregor's UFC 257 fight against Dustin Poirier, Khabib Nurmagomedov - who has fought and beaten both men - claimed that the clash would be in the former's favor in the early exchanges.

The same pattern is inevitable in any fight involving McGregor, who has always been a rapid starter in the UFC. Of the 22 wins in his professional MMA career, 'The Notorious' has had to go the distance only twice, both times against resolute chins in the form of Max Holloway and Nate Diaz. Every other victory has come in the first two rounds, where he's undoubtedly at his best.

Oliveira was rocked by Chandler in the first round, and Conor McGregor could follow in the former Bellator lightweight champion's footsteps. McGregor's knockout power and accurate striking can never be counted out, and he could put another Brazilian UFC champion away early.

#1 Charles Oliveira takes Conor McGregor down and submits him

Based on recent form, this seems to be the most likely outcome. Conor McGregor's notoriously average ground game, and his counterpart Oliveira's incredible Brazilian jiu-jitsu, tilts the scales heavily in the latter's favor.

With a takedown accuracy of only 44%, Oliveira isn't a great exponent of forcibly taking the fight to the ground, and McGregor won't be willing to engage in a jiu-jitsu battle as well. But the 32-year-old Dublin native was ragdolled by Khabib and even taken down by a boxer in Poirier.

If McGregor allows Oliveira to take him down, the odds would be stacked heavily against him. Four of his five professional losses have come via submission, and he would have few answers to the man with most submission wins in UFC history.

Charles Oliveira taking the fight to the ground and submitting Conor McGregor seems to be most likely outcome at the moment, but it would be impossible to rule 'The Notorious' out in a potential fight.