"I'd make him give up on himself" - When Michael Chandler assessed Charles Oliveira as a fighter

Five months before the UFC lightweight title fight between Michael Chandler and Charles Oliveira became official, Iron predicted how he would defeat Charles Oliveira if they fought in the UFC octagon.

While breaking down the top ten UFC lightweight fighters for MMA On Point in November 2020, Michael Chandler assessed Charles Oliveira as a fighter. Chandler acknowledged Oliveira's world-class Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and the improvements in his striking game.

However, Chandler also drew attention to Oliveira's weight management issues in the past. Chandler assessed that the difficulty in making weight was a sign of mental weakness that might affect Oliveira's cardio in five-round fights and predicted that he would beat Do Bronx by taking him into deep waters.

"When he takes your back you're gonna be hard-pressed to be able to get up. Off of you, he's gonna turn into a backpack for five minutes pretty quick. So do not let him get your back... His striking is starting to get better. Once a guy starts to get confidence in his hands, it makes him somewhat of a very dangerous guy.

"Weakness is still going to be his striking, as well as cardio and ability to make weight. I always look at the discipline and the character of the man. If you're a guy who misses weight on numerous times, you're also a guy who's gonna give up on yourself in a fight. So, That's what I would do. I would take him to the deep waters and make him give up on himself," Michael Chandler said.

Chandler was yet to make his UFC debut at the time of the breakdown video. Charles Oliveira and Michael Chandler have since defeated Tony Ferguson and Dan Hooker respectively. Following lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov's retirement, the UFC has put them in a fight for the vacant lightweight title at UFC 262 pay-per-view event scheduled to take place on May 15, 2021.

Michael Chandler's assessment of Charles Oliveira is based on facts

Michael Chandler's assessment of Charles Oliveira's weight management issues is based on the fact that Do Bronx has missed weight by large margins four times in his 27-fight run in the UFC. Oliveira has never fought five full rounds in any of his bouts and therefore, there is a big question mark about his ability to fight in long-drawn battles against the lightweight elite, especially with his struggle with scales in the past.

However, Charles Oliveira's weight struggles were limited to his time in the featherweight division and the Brazilian has not shown visible signs of struggle since his move up to lightweight in April 2017 against former Bellator lightweight champion Will Brooks.