5 reasons why Charles Oliveira could beat Khabib Nurmagomedov

#4. Charles Oliveira has faced adversity in the octagon – something Khabib Nurmagomedov has never done

Unlike Khabib Nurmagomedov, Charles Oliveira has overcome adversity inside the octagon

While Charles Oliveira has eaten his fair share of losses, Khabib Nurmagomedov’s incredible record of 29-0 stands up against any other fighter in UFC history. However, being that great can have a couple of unexpected drawbacks.

One such drawback is the fact that because he was always so dominant in the octagon, Khabib simply never faced any adversity during his tenure with the UFC. Essentially, ‘The Eagle’ brushed aside every foe he was faced with, often with seeming ease.

However, the same cannot be said for Charles Oliveira.

While ‘Do Bronx’ entered the UFC with a perfect record of 12-0, it wasn’t long before he suffered his first loss to Jim Miller. In the years that have followed, Oliveira has lost a further seven fights, suffering both knockout and submission defeats.

Those defeats, however, have only made the Brazilian stronger. Once considered a glass cannon of sorts, it’s now clear to see that Charles Oliveira is one of the toughest men on the entire UFC roster.

Many fighters would’ve been stopped by the power of Michael Chandler, for instance, but Oliveira recovered from a horrific first round to win. He also weathered quite the storm against Dustin Poirier before taking over to dominate the fight.

Could Khabib simply blow through ‘Do Bronx’ as he did with his other foes? Perhaps. However, we now know that Oliveira can come back from some seriously bad situations. If he were to put Khabib in a bad position in return, we just don’t know how the Dagestani would react.

It’s a bit of a stretch, but based on this, the advantage in a potential fight might lie with Charles Oliveira.

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#3. Charles Oliveira might be able to find a way to put Khabib Nurmagomedov in a bad position

Nobody in the UFC was able to put Khabib Nurmagomedov into a bad position - could Charles Oliveira do it?

Khabib Nurmagomedov might not have had the amateur wrestling credentials of some of the UFC’s other lightweights. However, there can be no doubt that while the Dagestani was active, he was the best takedown artist in the division.

Essentially, everyone Khabib faced – even powerful wrestlers in their own right like Justin Gaethje and Michael Johnson – was easily taken down by ‘The Eagle’.

With that in mind, it’s hard to imagine Charles Oliveira outwrestling Khabib. Hailing from Brazil and coming from a jiu-jitsu background, ‘Do Bronx’ is not a heavily credentialed wrestler, and he isn’t a master of explosive double leg takedowns.

However, over the years he’s developed into a highly dangerous takedown artist in his own right, with plenty of tricks that he utilizes to get his opponents down.

Tony Ferguson, for instance, had almost impenetrable takedown defense before he faced Oliveira, who got him down on numerous occasions – including with a high-impact bodyslam in the first round.

Against Dustin Poirier this weekend, Oliveira wasted no time in clinching with ‘The Diamond’ before quickly transitioning to take his back, where he eventually secured the fight-ending rear-naked choke.

While it’s unlikely that ‘Do Bronx’ would outwrestle Khabib, there’d be a definite possibility that he could get close to him and find a way to get him to the ground – or at least put him in a difficult position. This was something that nobody was able to do in the Dagestani’s UFC run. If he could do that, ‘Do Bronx’ could win.