Charles Oliveira is preparing for his fight against Arman Tsarukyan, and the tension is ramping up. However, Oliveira is trying his best not to stoop down to his opponent’s level and recently spoke about his feelings on the matter.
Tsarukyan openly stated that he believes Oliveira is a one-dimensional fighter and easily envisions a knockout in the first round against him. Luckily for him, he just got a first-round knockout in his previous fight against Beneil Dariush, adding some weight to his comments. As for his one-dimensional comments, he pointed out Oliveira’s ability to take his opponents back during fights, which is what he believes is the main thing he’s good at.
When reporters brought up these comments to Oliveira, he said, “It’s arrogance but I think each and every one of us plays the game in a different way. He’s going to say the things he’s going to say.” He later went on to say that all he could do was laugh at the comments made about him leading up to the fight. He said, “I’ve been here for 14 years so all I can do is laugh. It actually motivates me, if you’ve got a strong mind like I have right now, that only motives you, if you’ve got a weak mind, that’s going to get to you.”
Charles Oliveira Wanted This Fight
The two fighters are supposed to be competing at UFC 300 over the weekend, both with the hopes of obtaining a title fight with a win. Each of them has had their eyes on Islam Makhachev for a while now and hope to get an opportunity to take him down soon enough. Interestingly enough, Oliveira lost to him back at UFC 280. He was supposed to have a rematch with him back in October 2023, but after sustaining a cut, he withdrew from the fight. He was given the choice to either wait for Makhachev or accept a different number-one contender fight, and he chose the latter.
Emotions will be high, tension will be even higher, and a title shot is almost undoubtedly on the line. UFC 300 is going to be a thrill ride.