Coach: Charles Oliveira Will Finish Michael Chandler Within Two Rounds

Charles Oliveira’s coach is confident that his fighter will be able to finish Michael Chandler inside the distance at UFC 262.

Diego Lima, the leader of Chute Boxe Sao Paulo, spoke to Sherdog.com shortly after arriving in Houston for fight week along with Oliveira and Jorge Macaco. He said that preparations for the lightweight title bout have gone much smoother than they did for “Do Bronx’s” last Octagon appearance.

“Our last fight against [Tony] Ferguson was such a stressful atmosphere due to the short notice of one week,” Lima said. “Besides not having a normal camp, we had a pretty tough weight cut, plus [dealing with] all the visa and COVID-19 processes.

“This time, everything went perfectly. We tested negative in Sao Paulo and here in Houston. And, besides being very well trained, Charles just needs to cut 11 pounds by Friday.”

Lima revealed that the whole Chute Boxe team collaborated in helping Oliveira prepare for his title fight with Chandler.

“We always dreamed of a UFC belt, so the whole team worked together like they were going to fight,” he said. “Charles worked with 40 guys with totally different skills, and all of them studied a lot of Chandler´s fights in order to help him during sparring.”

Lima isn’t putting much stock into what Chandler has said during pre-fight interviews, especially when it comes to the topic of strategy.

“We know that Chandler loves to talk, but we also know he is a very intelligent guy who wouldn’t tell his real game plan to the media,” Lima said. “The fact is that we have a couple of strategies. [Chandler] will face the best Charles Oliveira.”

Lima did agree with Chandler’s assessment that the fight will not go the full five rounds, though he sees a different outcome than the former Bellator champion.

“I can't predict if it will be via knockout or submission, but I truly believe this fight will end between first and second round, with Charles being declared the new UFC lightweight champion,” he said.