UFC Lightweight bout: Donald Cerrone vs. Charles Oliveira
Odds: (even – Cerrone /-130 Oliveira )
Betting Pick: Cerrone
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In a featured Lightweight matchup, two extremely prolific grapplers will meet as Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone squares off against Charles “Do Bronx” Oliveira. Both of these guys have versatile skill sets highlighted by world-class ground games, so this should be a very competitive bout. Both of these guys can get the job done standing and on the ground, and both are capable of testing each other’s strengths, so this is going to be extremely close and could come down to which guy makes the first mistake.
Charles “Do Bronx” Oliveira is a prolific grappler with only one loss in his professional career. His wrestling is very solid, and his submission skills are world-class. To top it all off, Oliveira is actually a technically proficient and powerful striker. One question mark for Oliveira is his submission defense. He was submitted by Jim Miller, which is far from shameful, but Cerrone is equally capable of testing his submission defense and if Oliveira overextends looking for a submission of his own he might well pay the price.
Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone was one of WEC’s top Lightweights, and has transferred his success nicely into the UFC. Cerrone isn’t the most powerful striker, but he has solid technical boxing to complement his dominant wrestling and dangerous submissions from every position. What makes Cerrone so dangerous is his ability to mix up parts of his game very well and the fact that he can transition from submission attempt to submission attempt until he wears his opponents down and finally catches them.
This is going to be a very close and hard-fought bout. These guys are both world-class fighters and they have very similar skill sets. In the end, this is going to come down to who can score more points on the feet and who can secure the takedowns and control when and how this fight goes to the ground. I expect this fight to go the distance, but I think Cerrone is the slicker of the two and, most importantly, the superior wrestler. When this fight goes to the ground, Cerrone will be in the dominant position, which should allow him to play safe, fend Oliveira off, and score points while working for submissions. Cerrone by decision.
Prediction: Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone via Decision.
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