Dustin Poirier thinks Mateusz Gamrot has underrated striking and could knock out Charles Oliveira on Saturday at UFC Rio.
Dustin Poirier thinks anyone who believes Charles Oliveira will easily handle Mateusz Gamrot on the feet is in for a rude awakening at UFC Fight Night 261.
Although Poirier is naturally bias as a longtime friend and training partner of Gamrot (25-3 MMA, 8-3 UFC) at American Top Team, he knows the perception of Saturday's main event matchup against former lightweight champion Oliveira (35-11 MMA, 23-11 UFC), which takes place at Farmasi Arena in Rio de Janeiro (ESPN+).
That perception is that Gamrot is out of his depth on the feet, but Poirier is here to say that's not true. He thinks Oliveira is the one who should be banking on the takedowns in this fight, especially given the concern around his chin following a knockout loss to Ilia Topuria at UFC 317 in late June.
"That was a pretty devastating knockout," Poirier told MMA Junkie. "Any time someone gets put out like that, I definitely don't recommend them turning around as quickly as possible. Take some time off. We saw it with Alexander Volkanovski. We've seen it time and time again. You need to recovery, regroup, let things heal. But even turning around that quick, Gamrot has knocked out people in the UFC before. With four-ounce gloves, even though we don't think of Gamrot as a power, one-hit puncher, he is.
"Everybody is with four-ounce gloves. It's a dangerous fight. Dangerous fight for Charles, especially if he can't get the takedown on Gamrot. We'll see. Gamrot's boxing game has improved so much over the past two years. I think he's going to surprise a lot of people."
Poirier has spent countless hours in the gym with Gamrot. He has the experience of sharing the octagon with Oliveira, as well, after suffering a third-round submission loss in a title-fight encounter at UFC 269 in December 2021.
The styles of Poirier and Gamrot differ in many ways, but Poirier said there are a few critical elements that must be kept in mind when facing "Do Bronx," no matter what approach you're trying to bring.
"When I think about fighting Charles, he is a very front and back fighter," Poirier said. "You need to be more lateral. Gamrot needs to use footwork and be all the way in or all the way out. With a guy like Charles, he's long and strong in the clinch and he uses it very well. He'll throw a front kick then get into the clinch, smother your boxing. I think Gamrot, with his wrestling experience, he'll be able to pick where the fight goes.
"If he wants to stand up, he can do that. If he wants to go to the ground, he can take it there. If Charles wants to take him the ground, I think he's going to pass the test of the takedown defense everywhere, from against the fence to in the open. Gamrot is a really good scrambler and wrestler. Don't stay on the straight line with Charles."
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC Rio: Dustin Poirier says Mateusz Gamrot can KO Charles Oliveira
Category: General Sports
