UFC Sao Paulo: Charles Oliveira’s Not “Afraid” of Battling Khabib Nurmagomedov on The Ground

Charles Oliveira continues to roll through opponents, and after taking out Jared Gordon at UFC Sao Paulo, “do Bronx” called out the likes of Conor McGregor, Paul Felder and lightweight champ, Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Oliveira’s latest win

Oliveira took on the aforementioned Gordon on Saturday night, and he proceeded to finish the American in round one. After flooring Gordon with a hook not long into the fight, Oliveira put the lightweight away with a booming, uppercut.

The victory was the 28th of Oliveira’s career, and it extended the Brazilian vet’s winning streak to six. During this run, Oliveira has finished every opponent he’s faced.

Oliveira’s post-fight comments about McGregor and Nurmagomedov

Well, on account of Oliveira’s recent run, it’s clear/understandable that “do Bronx” isn’t short confidence. While discussing his next bout, and how he thinks he’d do against Nurmagomedov, Oliveira said this (quotes via MMA Fighting):

“I came here to fight, and now, I’m calling out some names,” Oliveira said. “My coach is going to see what’s best. I want to fight on the last card of the year. I didn’t [take] any punches. I’m 100 percent.

“It can be Conor McGregor, (or) it could be Paul Felder.”

“Everyone’s talking about Khabib,” Oliveira stated. “I’m better than him standing up. If it goes to the ground, I’m not going to be afraid of him.”

“Sometimes I don’t want to talk about it too much, but sometimes people think that I’m full of myself when I talk,” Oliveira explained. “I’m still the same guy that came from the favela. I still have my feet on the ground. I want to be the guy that came in and has the records for submissions, knockouts, bonuses, I want to be in the ‘Hall of Fame.’

There you have it. The timing certainly seems right for Oliveira to start calling out some bigger names, as, he continues to demonstrate he’s one of the more entertaining fighters in the lightweight division. Would he be able to counter the feared top game of Nurmagomedov? Oliveira is ridiculously dangerous off his back, so it would be interesting to see.

That said, when you consider Oliveira was ranked #13 heading into UFC Sao Paulo, the chances of him fighting Khabib or Conor anytime soon are slim to none. A rematch with Felder is an interesting idea. But, Felder is coming off wins over Edson Barboza and James Vick, and doesn’t have much to gain by running it back with Oliveira. Felder’s currently ranked #6 and he took Oliveira out with elbows in their 2017 bout.

All that aside, chances are we’ll see Oliveira facing a top ten ranked opponent next. What about a scrap with Edson Barboza or Al Iaquinta?