The MMA world’s loss is Charles Oliveira‘s gain. The fight the MMA community wanted to see was Islam Makhachev vs. Ilia Topuria. But that won’t happen since Makhachev has moved up a weight class. ‘Do Bronx’, of course, is now set to fight Topuria for the lightweight title on the June 28, International Fight Week UFC 317 card.

Oliveira, of course, had won the title in 2021 and went on to lose it in a one-sided submission loss to Islam Makhachev at UFC 280 in 2022. Since then, the Brazilian legend has been angling for a title rematch. He was scheduled for a rematch in 2023, but ‘Do Bronx’ had to pull out of the scheduled UFC 294 clash with Makhachev after getting injured weeks from the fight.

But with Makhachev moving up to welterweight to fight Jack Della Maddalena for the welterweight title, the UFC has scheduled Oliveira-Topuria for the 155-pound strap. And the mood among Oliveira fans isn’t too jubilant. If you look at the social media posts and reels from ‘Do Bronx’ fans online, you will see one theme repeated—they want Oliveira to win, but believe that Topuria will take the victory.

So, why do they feel like Topuria would beat the legendary Brazilian lightweight who has proven himself as an all-time great already? Well, former UFC champion Robert Whittaker, who is also an Oliveira fan, fears Topuria would win, as explained on his MMArcade podcast.

“I love the Charles story, right. But I do think it is the best entry fight for Ilia to fight Islam, you know, what I mean?… Charles does get dropped. Like, he does get dropped in fights, and Ilia is so good at cementing those, like at sensing blood, he’s so good at finishing fights… And his wrestling and grappling lends himself to not being afraid of Charles ground [game], of not being afraid to jump into Charles’ guard, to move into that position, to start doing some—landing some ground and pound,” ‘The Reaper’ told co-host Jonny Roses on their podcast.

And there is a lot of truth to what Robert Whittaker is saying. On the point about Ilia Topuria‘s ground game, not many people know that ‘El Matador’ is a world-class wrestler and a BJJ black belt. In fact, the Spanish Georgian came into the sport with a wrestling base. Although he barely uses his wrestling in his fights, it is worth remembering that he has a pretty good ground game and will not be easy prey for ‘Do Bronx’s lethal BJJ. Moreover, ‘The Reaper’s point about Oliveira getting dropped and Topuria’s knockout instincts.

Why Robert Whittaker and fans fear Ilia Topuria knocks out Charles Oliveira

Indeed, Oliveira, despite having a world-class grappling game, does get drawn into striking battles, which have ended badly for him. In just his last fight against Michael Chandler, whom the Brazilian was dominating until the fifth round, ‘Do Bronx’ got wobbled by the American in the final round.

And Topuria, as Whittaker pointed out, specializes in knocking out his opponents. He was the first man to knock out Max Holloway, becoming the first to do so at their UFC 308 clash last year. Before that, he knocked out former champ Alexander Volkanovski, again, becoming the first man to do that to ‘The Great’ in a UFC featherweight clash.

So one guy has a tendency to get dropped, and the other has a habit of dropping some of the greatest fighters this sport has ever seen. You can see why Whittaker and the fans are worried for Oliveira. But then again, the one thing many are perhaps forgetting is that Oliveira is bigger than Topuria in size.

Then again, Topuria has competed at lightweight and knocked his opponent out too—a much bigger opponent in size, Jai Herbert. What do you think about Robert Whittaker’s thoughts on the Oliveira-Topuria clash? Will the worst outcome for ‘Do Bronx’ play out at UFC 317? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.