Former champ predicts 'bad night' for Charles do Bronx against Ilia Topuria at UFC 317

Charles of the Bronx is a former UFC champion. Photo: Reproduction/Instagram/UFC India

About to fight for the vacant lightweight belt (up to 70,3 kg) against Ilia Topuria, Charles of the Bronx must have a rough night at UFC 317, on June 28th, in Las Vegas, United States. At least that's what another former champion of the organization thinks: aljamain sterling.

Former bantamweight belt holder (up to 61,2 kg), Sterling analyzed the lightweight belt dispute and predicted a complicated fight for the Brazilian due to his tendency to be hit and knocked down by opponents' blows and the power of the Georgian-Spanish fighter's fists.

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“It’s interesting, because Oliveira gets knocked down every fight. I would say in the last eight fights. That said, we know that Ilia Topuria has power. We've already seen Topuria taken down by Jai Herbert and come back. It was the first time he fought at lightweight. He says he feels better at lightweight, that his power is different at 70 pounds. We know he already has a lot of power at featherweight. How will that power translate to lightweight? If he can get close to Charles the way he gets close to everyone else, it will be a bad night for him and Ilia will be a two-division champion,” Sterling analyzed.

The greatest chance of Charles of the Bronx, according to Sterling's analysis, is to invest in grappling to tire Topuria's arms and, consequently, minimize the power of the rival's blows.

“In the grappling department, we haven’t seen anyone force that game against Ilia. I wonder if Do Bronx will try to play that game and see if he can tire him out and take some of the power out of his punches. That’s the big question mark,” he concluded.