Charles Oliveira is finally getting a shot at the very top of the Lightweight division at UFC 256 when he takes on Tony Ferguson. He was recently scheduled to fight against Beneil Dariush but the fight fell through when Oliveira withdrew for undisclosed reasons and the bout was scrapped altogether. It seems as though fate had a better plan for him as he will now meet one of the best Lightweights on the planet in Ferguson, someone who will be looking to right the ship after his recent loss to Justin Gaethje, his first in over 8 years.
With Tony Ferguson being the third-ranked Lightweight in the UFC, this presents an incredible opportunity for Charles Oliveira, who has struggled to break in to the top 5 despite over a decade fighting for the promotion. He now sits in sixth place after racking up an impressive seven fight winning-streak in which he has finished all of his opponents, five by submission. Despite Ferguson’s recent knockout loss, it still remains an unlikely outcome that Oliveira will be able to outclass him on the feet.
His most likely path to victory lies on the ground, where Oliveira is a third degree black belt in BJJ and has managed to finish half of his past opponents. That being said, that will not be an easy task either considering that Ferguson is a black belt in his own right under 10th Planet head Eddie Bravo. As a result, it’s virtually impossible to predict how this fight plays out and where the two elite competitors will spend most of their time, but it’ll certainly be fun to find out.
UFC 256 will take place on December 12th, 2020 and available to watch on UFC FightPass, click here to subscribe and watch.
