Max Holloway
He will look to confuse Oliveira with body attacks and double strikes, disguising a precise overhand to test the Brazilian's chin. He'll prepare heavy uppercuts to stop takedown attempts. His key weapons will be constant lateral movement and attacks from blind angles, while a high kick will help keep his opponent under pressure. He may even manage to shake the Brazilian with a kick that gets through the guard. If Oliveira is rocked even slightly, he will quickly move in to finish with boxing combinations from mid range.
Charles Oliveira
The Brazilian will focus on controlling distance with front kicks to the body and legs, keeping a tight guard and avoiding Holloway's feints. He will respond to combinations with straight punches and, if the Hawaiian opens up at mid range, try to punish him with a head kick. In close exchanges he will shoot for the body to take the fight to the ground.
On the ground Oliveira will immediately use sharp elbows and take any opportunity to isolate his opponent's arm and lock in a submission. After the defeat to Ilia Topuria, he is unlikely to take unnecessary risks in stand-up exchanges and will look to bring the fight to the mat as soon as a chance arises. Taking Holloway down is not easy, but his grappling level will allow him to get maximum value from every successful takedown, even if they are few over the course of the bout.
Max Holloway vs Charles Oliveira Prediction
Max Holloway has almost always lost only to elite opponents who were in peak form. Charles Oliveira is still capable of competing with top-level opponents, and he proved that with his victory over Mateusz Gamrot. The Brazilian is unlikely to want to be moved into the category of written-off stars of the past, and by beating him he would show everyone that he must still be taken seriously.
Given that track record, the bookmakers are confident that the current version of Oliveira will not cope with Holloway. The odds on a Max Holloway victory are around 1.50. If Oliveira were better at bringing his dangerous jiu-jitsu into play at the right moments, analysts would have more faith in him. But there is always a risk that he will spend too long in the stand-up, where he can simply be knocked out. A bet on Charles Oliveira to win is available at odds of about 2.65.
We think this is a more significant fight for Oliveira, and he has every chance of coming out as the winner.
