Charles Oliveira vs Justin Gaethje Prediction

• Where: Footprint Center, Phoenix
• When: Saturday, May 8, 05:00 EET

The bout between Charles Oliveira and Justin Gaethje is the headliner of the UFC 274, which takes place this Saturday night. The two lightweights are, according to many, the best fighters in the talent-stacked division right now, and they promise a very interesting match to watch. On one side, we have a submission artist, Oliveira, while on the other, Gaethje is one of the best strikers in the history of the UFC lightweight.

Charles Oliveira vs Justin Gaethje Preview

Oliveira

The champion isn’t a flashy fighter who is destroying his rivals and posting memorable wins. But his effectiveness in the ring is at the highest possible level, and for the moment, he holds the record for most finishes in the division’s history with 18. But 15 of those were via submission, which is yet another record. 

Since winning the title against Michael Chandler, Oliveira faced Dustin Poirier whom he defeated in the third round via rear-naked choke, proving that his current status isn’t just a convenient turn of events. Oliveira’s last loss was in 2017 to Paul Felder, and since then, he won 10 consecutive events, posting triumphs over Kevin Lee, Tony Ferguson, Chandler, and Poirier.

He is a fantastic grappler and a guy who is very, should we say, elastic once he gets ahold of the rival. We haven’t seen fighters who are so fluid in their submissions. But also, we noticed that Oliveira knows to hit back in stand-up, and that is exactly the way he beat Chandler, thus winning the title. What many forget or simply neglect is his very though chin, and against Gaethje, that is something which will be very important. 

Gaethje

If there is a spectacular fighter in the UFC, Justin Gaethje is the one. His nickname, the Highlight, perfectly embodies everything in his fight style. Gaethje is, according to many, one of the most explosive fighters in the UFC, right now among the top three most exciting to watch. 

His punches are arguably the toughest in the division, and we saw that against Chandler, who was considered to be Mike Tyson in the lightweight. It turns out that the Highlight hits harder. Many adore Gaethje’s tendency to drag the rival into an open brawl in the middle of the ring, where the two exchange punches until the very end of their power. Up until this point, he’s had more success than failure. 

Three of his losses were against Eddie Alvarez, Dustin Poirier, and Khabib, but he holds notable wins over James Vick, Edson Barboza, Cowboy Cerrone, Tony Ferguson, and at last, Michael Chandler. Only the last one wasn’t via KO, and even that was pretty close.

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Charles Oliveira vs. Justin Gaethje Prediction

Gaethje will need to be much more tactical than usual to break Oliveira, because if he uses his usual game plan, the Brazilian will sooner or later get a chance to drag him on the ground, which would pretty much be his end. We saw that the champion knows to respond against hard-hitters, and even though we favor Gaethje more, our pick here would be Oliverira’s victory. We feel that Do Bronx has a more versatile approach than the American.

Our verdict: Oliveira wins

Charles Oliveira vs Justin Gaethje Odds