Charles Oliveira is going to get taken out quickly by Ilia Topuria, according to a former heavyweight fighter.
The pair of MMA legends are scheduled to go to war later tonight at UFC 317, inside the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.
While the Brazilian is the established fighter in the lightweight division, many expect the Spanish-Georgian to rise to the occasion and cement his status as a two-weight world champion.
With ferocious power in his hands, one retired fighter can’t see past Topuria getting the job done quickly.
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Brendan Schaub thinks Ilia Topuria will destroy Charles Oliveira
At lightweight, ‘Do Bronxs’ has looked exceptional, picking up a plethora of fantastic wins. However, Brendan Schaub still remembers Charles Oliveira tapping to strikes against Paul Felder.
Having watched many of the icon’s fights, ‘Big Brown’ has concluded that the 35 year old simply takes too much damage to emerge from a showdown with Ilia Topuria unscathed.
In a video uploaded to his YouTube channel, Schaub, said: “Charles is actually a true 145-er, who was getting beat up at 145lbs, and had to go to 155lbs, y’all must’ve forgot.
“Now, one of the greatest lightweights to ever do it, but the reason he ventured over to lightweight, he was getting beaten up at 145lbs.
“Ilia Topuria dominated at 145lbs. I would argue now he’s not compromised at 145lbs and he can hydrate at 155lbs, the fury he’s going unleash on Charles, which Charles, again, one of the greatest to ever do it, he’s older and gets hit in every single fight, even the ones he wins, he gets hit, he gets in trouble.
“I just feel like Ilia is a guy where he’s going to land, I guarantee he lands, and you can’t get hit by him.
“Charles, you can’t change a leopard’s colors; he likes to get in these back-and-forth fights. How many Fight of the Nights has he had? It’s called Fight of the Night because both guys did pretty well, both of you get the bonus, not just one of you.
“It’s the perfect fight for Topuria to showcase his skill set, and I don’t think it goes past two.”
Charles Oliveira names shock fighter as the hardest puncher he’s ever faced
While Topuria packs a punch, Charles Oliveira is used to taking on heavy hitters.
Throughout his time at lightweight, the warrior has forged a reputation for having to go to the well to secure the victory.
On more than one occasion, he’s gotten up from the canvas to secure his own finishes. However, he doesn’t rank any of the athletes who dropped him as having the most power he’s ever felt.
Interestingly, Oliveira named a shock fighter as the hardest puncher.