Charles Oliveira, the UFC featherweight division’s best-kept secret, is the ultimate anomaly to teething terms from casual fans. When “do Bronx” steps into the cage, the mere notion that grappling is anything but exciting always gets turned on its head.
Juvenile terms such as lay-and-pray take a backseat. There is no lay-and-pray against Oliveira, a man with snakes for legs and more tricks than David Copperfield.
It was all on full display in his second run-in with Nik Lentz at UFC Fight Night 67. The two featherweights had met four years prior to Saturday night at UFC on Versus 4, where an illegal knee ruined Oliveira’s rear-naked choke submission.
Much had changed the second time out.
Lentz was no longer the one-trick pony wrestler lulling fight fans to sleep. Oliveira was every bit as well-rounded as he was back then. Perhaps the biggest change for him was maturity. He was no longer the raw 21-year-old prospect from Sao Paulo, Brazil. A highly-experienced tactician had emerged from unshaped clay, filled with endless potential.
In front of a Brazilian crowd, he greeted the former NCAA Division I wrestler with a steady dose of elbows and thai knees. There was no attempt to play the matador to Lentz’s bullish tactics in the striking department. Oliveira showed no respect for Lentz’s power, willingly keeping his head aligned in the fire to counter with shots of his own.
However, the reckless strategy did leave key openings. One in particular was a knee to the body that dropped Lentz late in the first round. But Lentz recovered by the second round and went back to his bread-and-butter wrestling. He was able to snag a few takedowns and attempted to weave his way through Oliveira’s guard, which ended up being a full-time job in itself.
Keeping top position was every bit as taxing as securing a takedown for Lentz, who fought tooth and nail to overcome Oliveira’s aggressive ground wizardry. The fight-ending mistake didn’t occur until the third round, where Lentz left his neck open for a guillotine choke.
At the post-fight press conference, Oliveira was asked to give his thoughts on a potential title fight in the future. The Brazilian star is currently riding a four-fight win streak with victories over Lentz, Jeremy Stephens, Hatsu Hioki and Andy Ogle.
“If you don’t want the title, you’re in the wrong sport,” said Oliveira, who earned another Fight of the Night bonus. “When I have my chance, I will go there to become champion. I can grow a lot more. I haven’t showed anything yet. One day I will get there and win the title.”
Featherweight champion Jose Aldo is scheduled to defend his UFC title against Conor McGregor at UFC 189 on July 11. Frankie Edgar is likely next in line to fight for the throne, but it shouldn’t come as a surprise to hear Oliveira’s name get called following a big win or two.
Aldo’s dominance is leading the division down the ruined path of recycled contenders. A fresh face is always welcome, and it certainly isn’t a bad thing to see one as exciting Oliveira’s.
Jordy McElroy is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He also is the MMA writer for FanRag Sports and co-founder of The MMA Bros.
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