‘Guys Knock Him Down, and They Run Away From His Guard’- Rafael dos Anjos Assesses the Approach of Charles Oliveira’s Former Opponents

Posted on by Matt James

Prior to his lightweight fight against Rafael Fiziev, former UFC 155-pound champion Rafael dos Anjos expressed his views on the division’s uncrowned champion Charles Oliveira. ‘Do Bronx’ was stripped of his belt after missing weight for his title defense against Justin Gaethje at UFC 274 and after winning the fight regardless, he’s now in pole position to recapture his belt that is placed as vacant.

After a stint at welterweight, ‘RDA’ has decided to make his way back down to lightweight, and he’s only got the gold strap on his mind. Dos Anjos believes he still has what it takes to become the champion and defeat the surging contenders who have stormed through the ranks at lightweight.

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Per Dos Anjos’ observation, fighters don’t truly capitalize on opportunities to finish Charles Oliveira when they have him hurt on the feet. In all his recent title fights, ‘Do Bronx’ has been visibly wobbled by his opponents, however, he’s found an opening to make a return and finish his opponents in calculating fashion.

“I think guys knock him down, and they run away from his guard,” dos Anjos said. “I’m going to take the opportunity to be in his guard and punish him from the top. I think that would make a huge difference. These guys they knock him down, but they don’t capitalize on it.

“If you see when he took [Dustin] Poirier down, [Poirier] just grabbed him and tried to eat the time. It looked like he was desperate while he was on bottom. I play well on the bottom. I’m a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, and I know how to control the wrist and how to be calm on the bottom. With [Justin] Gaethje, he gave the back right away, and once you get in the scrambles and these guys give their back right away, that’s how Charles is good.” [h/t mmafighting.com]

Dos Anjos is confident that he has what it takes to control and dominate Charles Oliveira, especially when he has him in a compromising position. Given the way he’s looked, it will take a stellar performance by anyone to dethrone ‘Do Bronx’.

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