UFC
"Dangerous man" Nik Lentz promises to hurt Charles Oliveira at UFC Fight Night 67
May 29, 2015 - 11:30:15 AM "Dangerous man" Nik Lentz promises to hurt Charles Oliveira at UFC Fight Night 67

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Feeling like he wasn't progressing in his career, former lightweight Nik Lentz left Minnesota for South Florida and American Top Team in 2013. It's a move that has improved his game considerably, and in his rematch with Charles Oliveira Saturday night at UFC Fight Night 67, he's prepared to show just how much better he is in 2015.

"The only thing different about this is that you're going to see how much I've changed in the last four or whatever years," Lentz said of the rematch in an interview with MMAJunkie.com. "I was a completely different fighter then. I had enormous talent but I didn't get to the point – I didn't have the right coaching. I didn't have the right people to mold that talent. I was a talent from the beginning, but I had no technique. Now I've got all the technique. I'm a dangerous man."

Lentz and Oliveira were supposed to meet for a second time late last year, but Oliveira missed weight and was pulled from the fight due to illness the day of the bout. Lentz says he's looking to make his move in this division, and no matter what mark Oliveira hits on the scale, he's ready to go through him.

"All fights for me are emotional," Lentz said. "I put everything I have into this. My whole life is fighting. Fighting and my family, those are the two most important things to me. So, if anyone gets in the way of that I'm going to hurt them. I'm going to hurt them bad. I'm going to hurt Charles.

"...It doesn't matter [what he weighs]. The first time I heard that he might come in a little heavy, he came in like six pounds or whatever heavy, I was prepared for that this time. He can come in at 170 if he wants. If we could, I would gentleman's agreement with him right now to fight him at whatever weight he is right now. But that's against the rules, the UFC is professional, they don't like to do that. But I'm up for whatever."

Penick's Analysis: Both Lentz and Oliveira have gotten better since shifting to the featherweight division, and in the time since their first fight they've each added some considerable skills to their repertoire. For Lentz, this is about proving he's better, and taking that step back up the ladder at 145 lbs. He's proven to be fairly dominant against all but the second best fighter in the division thus far in Chad Mendes, so a win over Oliveira would be another meaningful step. If he can pull that off in impressive fashion on Saturday night, it will affirm his spot as one of the legitimate contenders in the field.