Ilia Topuria criticizes Charles Oliveira, Colby Covington predicts UFC 314 main event, Paddy Pimblett calls out UFC veteran: MMA News Roundup

Ilia Topuria has criticized Charles Oliveira, Colby Covington offered his prediction for the UFC 314 main event, and Paddy Pimblett sent Dustin Poirier a bold message.

Find out more details in today's (April 12) Sportskeeda daily news roundup.

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#3. Ilia Topuria criticizes Charles Oliveira's fighting character

Ilia Topuria has made a bold claim regarding Charles Oliveira, stating that the Brazilian often gives up during fights against a more powerful opponent.

'La Leyenda' is currently awaiting confirmation for his first bout at lightweight, with rumors suggesting he will face either the champion Islam Makhachev or Oliveira. Should his bout be against the latter, it doesn't appear as though the Brazilian will need much motivation.

Speaking on the PDB Podcast, Topuria had this to say about Oliveira:

"I like him [Oliveira] of course, he has great ground game [but] his striking is nothing special for me. On the ground he's dangerous, he has the most submissions in UFC history. He's a dangerous guy on the ground but I think he's the kind of guy that when he feels that you are more powerful, he gives up. He gives up fast... [He's got] 10 losses, 10. It's not 1."

Check out Ilia Topuria's comments below:

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#2. Colby Covington predicts UFC 314 main event

Colby Covington recently weighed in on UFC 314's main event this weekend between Alexander Volkanovski vs. Diego Lopes. The two featherweight stars will fight it out for the vacant featherweight title.

The bout marks a return for 'The Great' after he opted to take some time away from the sport following his KO loss to Ilia Topuria in Feb. 2024. For Lopes, the surging contender is on a five-fight win streak and will step into the octagon the younger man by six years.

'Chaos' spoke to Fox Sports about the upcoming bout, stating that he expects Lopes to be victorious as Volkanovski is only there for a paycheck. He said:

"I'm gonna have to go with the emo haircut-looking dude, Lopes. I think he's younger, he's hungrier and I think Volk's just coming back for a pay check."

Check out Covington's comments here:

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#1. Paddy Pimblett sends bold message to Dustin Poirier

Ahead of his UFC 314 co-main event clash against Michael Chandler this weekend, Paddy Pimblett has also set his sights on Dustin Poirier.

The two lightweight stars have traded back-and-forth on social media over recent weeks, with both men stating that they would have no issue defeating the other. Recently, however, 'The Baddy' took it up a notch by expressing his belief that 'The Diamond' would be an "easy" fight for him.

Speaking during an interview with Inside Fighting, Pimblett said:

"I don't want to disrespect Poirier because I think he is a legend. He's a f**king brilliant fighter. But if Chandler was beating you up like that for nearly three rounds, then you're overrated. I think Poirier is a pretty easy fight for me. I know everyone's gonna go bananas when they hear that, but I do. I think I finish Dustin Poirier if I fight [him]."

Check out Paddy Pimblett's comments below (9:50):