Charles Oliveira believes he can knock out both Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier

Charles Oliveira believes he can knock out both Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier. Ahead of the UFC 264 trilogy matchup between McGregor and Poirier, Oliveira has asserted that he’s confident in his striking skills against both the UFC 264 headliners.

Speaking to AG Fight, Brazilian MMA stalwart Charles Oliveira suggested that he’s confident in his standup skills even against elite strikers like Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier. Oliveira stated:

“I never pick opponents. I’ve always been ready to fight. They are two huge names in the sport. Everyone knows a fight with McGregor involves a lot of money. Poirier, not so much, but they’re both great opponents. I’ll be ready. I believe in my jiu-jitsu against any of them. But something tells me that if I were to fight them, I would knock them both out. I feel good.”

UFC mainstay Charles Oliveira has been competing in the organization for over a decade. ‘Do Bronx’ finally realized his dream of becoming a UFC world champion earlier this year. Oliveira defeated Michael Chandler via second-round TKO at UFC 262 (May 2021) to win the UFC lightweight title.

Meanwhile, former UFC featherweight and lightweight champion Conor McGregor and former interim UFC lightweight champion Dustin Poirier are on the cusp of receiving a shot at Charles Oliveira for the UFC lightweight title. Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier are set to clash at UFC 264, with the winner likely to face Oliveira later this year.

“A few years ago, Charlie was a jiu-jitsu guy…He would walk forward, eat shots and was a bit wary. Nowadays, I’m not afraid of trading shots with those guys. What’s funny is that once I start to trade shots, they’re the ones who want to take me down, to do what I can do better. This shows how much I’m evolving on the feet. It’s going to be a great fight, for sure. Charles is not just a jiu-jitsu fighter. He’s a well-rounded fighter, on the mat and on the feet. I do think they’ll all get knocked out, though.” (*English translation courtesy: Bloody Elbow)

While Charles Oliveira emphasized that he’s confident in his jiu-jitsu in potential matchups against Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier, he reiterated that his striking skills are constantly evolving. Oliveira noted that he’s a well-rounded MMA fighter and believes that if he were to fight Conor McGregor or Dustin Poirier, they’d all get KO’d.

Charles Oliveira has dangerous challengers like Conor McGregor, Dustin Poirier, Justin Gaethje, and others vying for his UFC lightweight title

Charles Oliveira

Charles Oliveira currently finds himself seated on the throne of what many regard as the most stacked division in all of MMA. Oliveira is the kingpin of the shark tank that is the UFC lightweight division and has several dangerous challengers gunning for his title.

Names like Justin Gaethje, Beneil Dariush, Michael Chandler, Tony Ferguson, Rafael dos Anjos, Islam Makhachev, and others have been fighting tooth and nail for a shot at the UFC lightweight title.

However, the consensus in the MMA community is that, as of this time, the winner of the trilogy bout between Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier is likely to receive the next lightweight title shot.

The trilogy matchup between Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier will be a five-round lightweight bout that’ll headline UFC 264. The UFC 264 event is set to take place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on July 10th, 2021.