Can Conor McGregor Overcome the Grappling of Charles Oliveira?

Last weekend Charles Oliveira announced that he belongs in the upper echelons of one of the most loaded divisions of the UFC. Following his win over Tony Ferguson, Oliveira expressed his desire of fighting the winner of Conor McGregor vs Dustin Poirier. Therefore, here is our way too early prediction for a fight between McGregor and Oliveira.

Despite his seven-fight win streak prior to this weekend, Oliveira still wasn’t in the title mix of the 155-pound division. However, what he did to Tony Ferguson left no doubt in the mind of the fans that Oliveira is a legit contender in the division. Hence, there’s a high chance that he meets Conor McGregor in the future en route to lightweight gold.

The outcome of a fight between Oliveira and McGregor depends mainly on where most of the fight ends up happening – standing or on the ground. Against Ferguson, Oliveira showed that his ground game has evolved to a different level altogether. He didn’t give Ferguson an inch on the ground. The scrambles of ‘El Cucuy’ were no match for the grappling brilliance of ‘Do Bronx’.

Conor McGregor has an underrated defensive grappling

Despite his prowess as a striker, what many people keep on forgetting is that McGregor has a pretty solid grappling defense. His first round against the former champion Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229 is a testimonial to the same. Of all the opponents in Nurmagomedov’s recent fights, McGregor proved the hardest to be taken down in the initial rounds.

McGregor will also bring in more power against Oliveira as compared to Ferguson. Consequently, it is highly unlikely that Oliveira slams McGregor to the ground like he did Ferguson.

As long as both the fighters remain on their feet, McGregor will have the advantage in the striking department. His wide unorthodox stance and quick movements along with precision striking make him better, at least on paper, as compared to the Brazilian.

However, if the fight is of five rounds, the Irishman will have his best shot at victory in the first three rounds. If Oliveira takes him down in the last couple of rounds, he will be at a significant advantage will all the years of jiu-jitsu experience under his belt.

Taking everything into account and assuming that a fully locked in McGregor shows up to work, I will pick him to win by knockout within the first couple of rounds. Having said that, it doesn’t mean you can sleep on Charles Oliveira. The Brazilian was an underdog last weekend as well but went in the Octagon and proved that he is the real deal.

Read More: What’s Next for Charles Oliveira After a Dominating Win Over Tony Ferguson?