UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira couldn’t care less about opinions of how his upcoming UFC 269 title defense against Dustin Poirier will end. Especially when it’s thoughts from inactive fighters like Khabib Nurmagomedov.
The headliner at UFC 269 features the two best 155-pound fighters on the planet, and a couple of competitors ranked in the MixedMartialArts.com pound-for-pound rankings, in a matchup for UFC gold. It is a highly anticipated bout that is hard to call for some. It’s why members of the media have sought out opinions from all over the MMA spectrum to get intel on the likely result of Saturday’s fight.
One member of the MMA fraternity spoken to recently about the matchup was unbeaten former lightweight king Khabib Nurmagomedov (29-0). He told ESPN that he saw his former foe Poirier (28-6) pulling out the victory in Las Vegas. Although he admitted it is a very “interesting fight” to make a pick for.
Charles Oliveira couldn’t care less about Khabib Nurmagomedov picking Dustin Poirier to beat him
“I have it 60/40 Dustin Poirier because of his cardio and heart,” Nurmagomedov said [h’t MMAFighting. “Charles is a very, very dangerous opponent. He’s a real champion. He has a nine [fight] win streak, he beat Tony Ferguson, he finished eight [other] guys. It’s a very interesting fight for me, but I think it’s 60/40 Dustin Poirier.”
As a fighter viewed as the best lightweight of all time, and a former Poirier opponent, his thoughts do hold weight and made headlines. Oliveira (31-8), the new warden of the division, was asked about “The Eagle’s” pick on Wednesday. However, while the Russian’s opinion mattered to some fans and media, the champ couldn’t care less about it.
“To be honest, I don’t care what Khabib says. He can say whatever he wants. He’s retired now, so I don’t really care what he has to say,” Oliveira told The Schmo podcast.
Oliveira ready to prove doubters wrong again at UFC 269
Despite being the division’s current belt holder and on an impressive nine-fight win streak, Oliveira enters the bout inside the T-Mobile arena as the underdog. Being underestimated in a big fight is a familiar situation for the champ. He was not the betting favorite in two of his last three bouts and many considered his last opponent, Michael Chandler, to be a very live underdog in their UFC 262 bout in June.
But that doesn’t bother “Do Bronx.” He believes he has built a reputation for proving his doubters wrong during his impressive UFC career.
“I don’t care about this talk. People can think whatever they want. Every time someone tells me I’m gonna lose, I go there and prove that they are wrong and I get the W,” said Oliveira. “Guys, I’m ready, I’m gonna shock the world again.”
UFC 269 takes place on Saturday night (Dec. 11) and kicks off with preliminary action at 6:15 pm on ESPN+. The US $69.99 main card pay-per-view then follows at 10 pm
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