Oliveira doesn’t mind Lee’s trash talk: ‘The pressure is on him’

Jason Da Silva-USA TODAY Sports

Charles Oliveira feels at ease ahead of his fight against Kevin Lee at UFC Brasilia. It seems that Kevin Lee’s trash talk will not get under Charles Oliveira’s skin ahead of their main event fight at UFC Br…

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Jason Da Silva-USA TODAY Sports

Charles Oliveira feels at ease ahead of his fight against Kevin Lee at UFC Brasilia.

It seems that Kevin Lee’s trash talk will not get under Charles Oliveira’s skin ahead of their main event fight at UFC Brasilia. Not much of a talker, ‘Do Bronx’ prefers to let his actions do the all the talking for him in the Octagon, but enjoys seeing his opponent build all this anticipation before their fight.

In an interview with Tatame, Oliveira explained that Lee will have to deliver something on fight night, after previously saying he would shut up all of Charles’ fans and spoil the party in Brasilia. For ‘Do Bronx,’ stirring things up like that just adds more pressure to put on a good performance, which could get in the way of a win.

“I think he is the favorite to win,” Oliveira said. “It’s like he said, he’s ‘the man.’ He said that. No matter what, that comes with pressure. I’ll fight like I always have, no pressure. Always moving forward, using my striking and my grappling. Let him say what he will do, that he will shut everyone up. The pressure is on him, not me.”

Although Oliveira feels like Lee is the betting favorite to win the fight, he does see flaws in Kevin’s game he could exploit. Namely, a tendency to fade in the later round, which ‘Do Bronx’ intends to take advantage of in a five-round bout.

“Kevin Lee is really tough,” he said. “He has some flaws in his game that we can work with. I think he mixes up his boxing and his wrestling really well. He takes you down, he unleashes some strong ground and pound. However, he usually starts a round strong and then starts to fade. In five rounds, I think I can take an advantage of that.”

Currently on a six-fight winning streak, Charles Oliveira (28-8-1 NC) finished all of his past opponents, including notable names such as Clay Guida, Jim Miller, and David Teymur. The 30-year-old’s last loss happened in December 2017, when he was TKO’d by Paul Felder.

Now, Charles Oliveira is expected to meet Kevin Lee at UFC Fight Night 170’s main event, in Brasilia, Brazil, on March 14. The entire card will stream live on ESPN+.