TUF Live Finale – Jonathan Brookins vs. Charles Oliveira preview
Next up on the main card of ‘The Ultimate Fighter Live’ Finale, we take a closer look at the featherweight tilt pitting season twelve winner, Jonathan Brookins, against his fellow former lightweight, Brazilian Charles Oliveira. Will Brookins continue to impress inside the Octagon or will ‘Do Bronx’ prove to be a dangerous addition to the 145lb bracket? MMABay takes a closer look at this one, after the jump…
Jonathan Brookins (13-4, 2-1 UFC)
As a key member of Team GSP on season twelve of ‘The Ultimate Fighter’, the softly spoken and rather new-age Jonathan Brookins quietly went about his business, choking out numerous Armenian judokas along the way, as you do.
At the season finale, the BJJ purple-belt was forced to dig deep as he survived some knee-trembling punches from Michael Johnson before taking over in the next two rounds, using his wrestling to subdue and decision his opponent.
The Florida resident has gone 1-1 since, first being thrown to the young lion Erik Koch who earned himself a title shot by defeating the TUF winner fairly comfortably on the scorecards. That was in September, and Brookins rebounded on FUEL TV in February with a surprising first round knockout of BJJ guru, Vagner Rocha – catching him off-guard with a hook and finishing him with shots on the ground.
Charles Oliveira (15-2-1, 3-2 UFC)
The long-haired wrestler will take on Brazilian sensation, Charles ‘Do Bronx’ Oliveira, on the weekend with the winner surely getting one of the division’s household names later in the year. The 22-year old phenom, who now trains out of Houston, Texas, was seriously hot and cold at 155lbs – completely owning lower-level opposition such as Darren Elkins and Efrain Escudero to pick up ‘Submission of the Night’ honours in both his first two UFC appearances.
But ‘Do Bronx’ was caught slipping whenever he faced a top contender, and was finished in round one by both Jim Miller and Donald Cerrone, prompting the youngster to try out the 145lb talent pool. The lanky BJJ black-belt made his featherweight debut in January, facing wrestler Eric Wisely on the first ever ‘UFC on FX’ card.
Oliveira needed just over a minute to toss Wisely on the scrap heap, seizing a rarely-seen reverse calf-slicer against the cage that forced an agonising tap from the American. With another couple of victories under his belt, it would be hard to deny the exciting Brazilian a top-contender fight.
The Verdict: While Oliveira is the much better striker – Brookins, despite knocking out his last opponent, is not a good striker at all – ‘Do Bronx’ lacks real horsepower in his shots and tends to look to overwhelm opponents instead. This is good news for Brookins, whose stout chin and powers of recovery mean that the Brazilian is unlikely to put him in real danger standing.
Brookins’ wrestling is also much better suited to a fight with someone like Oliveira – he rarely directly preferring to trip opponents from close quarters, against the cage and from the clinch. The American’s got some tasty hip-tosses on him also, and a very deep gas-tank.
Plus, if you’re tired, you do not want Jonathan Brookins stuck to your back like a demented rucksack, and this is what he’ll do on the weekend – coming on strong as Oliveira begins to slow down to eke out a decision. Brookins, decision.
By Steve Davies.
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