Exclusive: Merab Dvalishvili's coach has definitive prediction for Ilia Topuria vs. Charles Oliveira at UFC 317

Ilia Topuria faces Charles Oliveira for the vacant lightweight title at UFC 317, and Merab Dvalishvili's Syndicate MMA coach, John Wood, recently shared his thoughts on who the winner of the bout could be. Wood did so in an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda's James Lynch.

While Wood regards Oliveira as a "fantastic fighter," he is still of the opinion that the Brazilian is a stylistically favorable opponent for Topuria. He showed no hesitation in selecting a likely winner when asked by Lynch. Wood said:

"You gotta go with Ilia on that one. He just has... Charles is a fantastic fighter, he's getting a little up there in age and wear-and-tear. He's definitely not on the downside of anything yet, but Ilia is still very much on the come-up. Again, we're talking about somebody coming up a weight class."

In particular, Oliveira's poor defensive striking was highlighted. 'Do Bronxs' doesn't move his head and rarely tucks his chin, so he is prone to getting hit clean and is rocked or hurt with alarming regularity. This could prove disastrous against Topuria. Wood added:

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"Is Ilia going to have problems with the size? I think his power is only gonna get better, and I think his skill-set for this fight is gonna be just fine in being able to handle what Charles brings. We've seen Oliveira have tendencies to get touched in fights, and I think if you're in there with somebody like Ilia, and he touches you a few times, it's gonna be night-night. So, I would lean more IIia in this one for sure."

Check out John Wood's prediction for Ilia Topuria vs. Charles Oliveira below (12:07):

While many have written off Oliveira's chances, the Brazilian submission specialist believes he will emerge triumphant, even vowing to knock Topuria out.

Ilia Topuria was initially targeting Islam Makhachev

The original opponent Ilia Topuria had in mind for his lightweight conquest was Islam Makhachev. Unfortunately for the Georgian-Spaniard, the Dagestani wrestler is moving up to welterweight to face champion Jack Della Maddalena.

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In response, the UFC has booked 'El Matador' to face Charles Oliveira for the lightweight title, which Makhachev will soon vacate.

About the author

Ricardo has been an MMA writer at Sportskeeda for the past 2 years, having previously worked for The Sportster. In his time at Sportskeeda, the kickboxing and Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner has penned over 2000 articles, including five exclusive pieces, and raked in more than 4 million views. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics.

Ricardo’s earliest memory of becoming an MMA fan dates back to 2009 when Lyoto Machida defeated Rashad Evans in the headlining bout of UFC 98. His Mt. Rushmore of MMA fighters includes Georges St-Pierre, Jon Jones, Fedor Emelianenko, Anderson Silva, and Alexander Volkanovski.

Ricardo aspires to be at the forefront of covering MMA soon by becoming a part of discussion panels that conduct pre-fight predictions, post-fight breakdowns, and fantasy fight breakdowns. His articles are supported by extensive research and double checking of information via multiple sources.

Beyond work, Ricardo likes to write and draw.

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Edited by Subham