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Charles Oliveira recently captured the UFC lightweight title, which had been lying vacant since the retirement of former champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. In his debut bid for the strap, 'Do Bronx' faced Michael Chandler in the UFC 262 main event. In a surprising turn of events, Oliveira knocked Chandler out cold just 19 seconds into the second-round to be crowned the new UFC lightweight champion.
The Brazilian faced 'Iron' Mike after Dustin Poirier, who was originally scheduled to fight him, turned down a shot at the title. After defeating Conor McGregor in his most recent appearance, Poirier chose a trilogy fight against the Irishman over an immediate title shot.
While Charles Oliveira finally became the UFC lightweight champion in his 28th octagon outing, it will be extremely challenging to maintain his place at the top of the highly stacked division. As we await the Brazilian's first title defense, let's take a look at four reasons why Oliveira won't be the 155-pound king by the end of 2021.
#4 Charles Oliveira might succumb to mental warfare
Charles Oliveira is expected to go up against the winner of the trilogy fight between Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier for his first title defense. According to reports, McGregor is almost certain to get a title shot if he gets past Poirier despite being ranked fifth in the lightweight division.
Conor McGregor certainly poses a threat with his memorable trash talk, which has often been seen to take a toll on his opponents. While Oliveira is a true veteran, he hasn't faced a trash talker like McGregor.
With the amount of hype that will surround a first title defense against the former two-division champ, McGregor's high-level trash talk could prove fatal for Charles Oliveira. The Irishman's legendary one-punch knockout of Jose Aldo remains proof of the significant part his trash talk can play.
#3 Charles Oliveira overly relies on grappling
Charles Oliveira is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt and possesses one of the best ground games in the UFC. But it is his over dependence on grappling that could prove to be the undoing of Charles Oliveira in his first title defense. While he might have won the UFC lightweight strap with a knockout finish, of the 31 victories in Oliveira's professional career, 19 have come via submission.
In fact, it was his over reliance on wrestling that led to Charles Oliveira's last loss inside the octagon back in 2017. In a lightweight matchup against Paul Felder at UFC 218, Oliveira desperately tried to grapple 'The Irish Dragon' with little success.
While 'Do Bronx' was able to get Felder to the canvas, he failed to control him on the ground aside from a failed submission attempt in the first-round. Oliveira looked lost when his grappling did not produce the expected results and he was eventually finished by Felder with elbows on the ground just over four minutes into the second-round.
#2 Charles Oliveira's questionable striking defense
Going by his performance against Michael Chandler, Charles Oliveira's 53% striking defense could prove to be a major problem against elite strikers like Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier.
In the lightweight title bout at UFC 262, Chandler came out swinging early and had Oliveira hurt to the point where a first-round finish looked certain for Chandler.
Michael Chandler even had Charles Oliveira trapped in a guillotine although the Brazilian eventually slipped out and got Chandler's back. However, Chandler soon powered his way out of trouble and hurt Oliveira with his trademark blitzing punches. Oliveira barely managed to weather the storm until the end of the opening five minutes..
Both Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier boast an elite striking game which could prove to be fatal to Charles Oliveira's reign at the top of the lightweight division.
#1 Charles Oliveira has never fought championship rounds
In his 40 professional fights Charles Oliveira has never seen the fourth or fifth round of a bout. In his 11 eleven years and 28 fights in the UFC, Oliveira has in fact only gone the distance of three rounds on three occasions. While there have been no worries about Oliveira's cardio, 'Do Bronx' is yet to be tested in deeper waters.
This gives a definite advantage to opponents like Dustin Poirier, who are known to utilize their gas tanks as weapons in the championship rounds.
