UFC commentator Joe Rogan could only heap praise on lightweight champion Charles Oliveira.
Oliveira successfully defended his lightweight title for the first time following a third-round submission win over Dustin Poirier in the UFC 269 headliner earlier this month.
“Do Bronx” notably battled adversity as he was dropped in the first round and took quite a few big shots from Poirier. However, Oliveira turned things around in the second by dominating Poirier on the ground before eventually sinking in the rear naked choke in the third for the finish.
On a recent episode of his podcast, Rogan explained just how good the Brazilian is today.
“Oliviera is a monster. People think of Oliviera as not a being the monster because there’s times that people have beaten him. Like Paul Felder smashed him and there’s a lot of guys that has beaten him. Cub Swanson KO’ed him. Guys have beaten him. But he got better and you gotta accept that and not think of like when he lost.
“…I also think he got into the UFC when he was 20. And so, part of the problem was that he was learning and developing and growing in an elite organization. He’s been around a long ass time but he came in to his own over the last few years which kind of makes sense like you figured it out, somewhere around 27 or 28. These guys are elite, they come close to beating him, but he finds a way to beat them. And the way he does it is so final. The way he beat Poirier — man, that choke was so f*cking good. It was so good.”
Joe Rogan: Charles Oliveira’s Jiu-Jitsu Is On Another Level
While Oliveira’s jiu-jitsu pedigree is well-known, Rogan went on to add that his striking has also come leaps and bounds which makes him a devastating threat all around.
However, the major difference will always be his jiu-jitsu, which for Rogan, is levels above his competition.
“His jiu-jitsu is really good, but maybe his striking wasn’t as good as his jiu-jitsu,” Rogan added. “But slowly, his jiu-jitsu, striking merged where it’s equal. He’s lethal in his striking and he’s lethal in his jiu-jitsu.“But the difference is, his level of jiu-jitsu is a leap higher than most of the people he’s competing against. He has the most submissions in the history of the UFC.”
You can watch the full clip below:
