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Firas Zahabi feels Justin Gaethje must drag Charles Oliveira into deep waters in order to beat 'Do Bronx' in their upcoming lightweight title fight. Oliveira and Gaethje are set to collide in the headliner of the upcoming UFC 274 pay-per-view event, which will take place at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona, on May 7.
According to Georges St-Pierre's coach, there's only one chink in the Brazilian's armor which 'The Highlight' will look to exploit come fight night.
Zahabi pointed out that in some of his previous fights, Oliveira showed a tendency to slow down towards the later rounds, allowing his opponents to assert their dominance towards the end of the fight.
If Gaethje manages to drag the fight to the championship rounds, Zahabi believes he could be crowned the new champion. In a recent video shared by Tristar Gym's YouTube channel, the Canadian coach said:
"I love the heart of Justin Gaethje and I think that's the only chink in Oliveira's armor is that he's been in hard fights in the past. Not in the recent past [but] in the past where you kind of saw there was a kink in his armor [and] he kind of slowed down a little bit and let the fight get away from him. I think it's going to be a good opportunity for Gaethje to win the last few rounds so that's how I see it."
Watch the video below:
Firas Zahabi narrates the best path to victory for Charles Oliveira at UFC 274
Firas Zahabi believes Charles Oliveira will have to bank on his striking as well as grappling skills to successfully defend the title against Justin Gaethje at UFC 274.
Although he doesn't think Oliveira will be able to knock Gaethje out cold, Zahabi feels that 'Do Bronx' has the striking skillset to hurt Gaethje on the feet.
Once he manages to rock Gaethje, Zahabi feels the best way to finish the fight for Oliveira would be to either take the fight to the ground or latch on to a submission and force his opponent to tap:
"I would be surprised if he [Oliveira] flatlines him, like he knocks him out cold, not impossible but wouldn't surprise me if he hurts him and jumps on his back and finishes him with a choke or finishes him with a triangle or a guillotine, you know. You knock a guy down and you wrap up his neck, it's over."
During his fight with Dustin Poirier at UFC 269 last year, Charles Oliveira took Poirier's back in the third round and effortlessly sunk in a standing rear-naked choke, forcing the latter to submit. Will we see something similar at UFC 274? Only time will tell.
