Charles Oliveira is confident he will hear ‘And Still’ on December 11 in Las Vegas against Poirier.
Oliveira is set to defend his lightweight title for the first time in the main event of UFC 269 against Poirier. It’s a fascinating fight and one many fans are looking forward to. On paper, it seems like an evenly matched fight, yet for the champ, he disagrees as he believes he has way more tools to win this fight.
“On (December) 11, we’ll be there to prove who’s best and who’s not the best. There’s not much to say. We’ll only know when we face each other. I trust myself, I believe myself,” Oliveira said to MMAFighting. “I think I have way more weapons than him. All you guys that think (he’s No. 1), watch his last fight and watch my last fight, see what I’m good at and what he’s good at, and match it all up to see what happens. Strikers took him down way too easily, and you know what happens if I take him down. If he trades on the feet with me, you know I’m hitting hard, brother. It will be fire on the 11th. I have firepower in my hands, I have my jiu-jitsu. I respect him a lot, but I want to remain champion, I want to keep this belt here. I couldn’t care less what others say or criticize. It’s about time I take all that inside my head and look at what people say on Instagram.”
As Charles Oliveira says, Dustin Poirier has been taken down by strikers like Dan Hooker, Justin Gaethje, and Anthony Pettis among others. Yet, “The Diamond” is solid off his back so even if Oliveira can get him down, he will make it a tough time for him.
Ultimately, it is a close fight but the Brazilian in Oliveira is confident he will get past the man many say is the uncrowned champion in Poirier.