Georges St-Pierre predicts two possible scenarios for the outcome of Islam Makhachev vs. Charles Oliveira
UFC Hall-of-Famer Georges St-Pierre has given his breakdown of multiple scenarios that may play out during UFC 280's main-event between Islam Makhachev and Charles Oliveira.
Oliveira is heading into this fight believing he is the champion. The Brazilian was controversially stripped of the title earlier this year but has the mindset that UFC 280 will be his second title defense. For Makhachev, under the tutelege of Khabib Nurmagomedov, the Russian is on a ten-fight winning streak and will fight for his first UFC title.
The first fight week interaction between Charles Oliveira and Islam Makhachev was a respectful one.🤜🤛
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According to 'GSP', Charles Oliveira's best chance of victory is to try to force his opponent to scramble so he can find the finish:
"If I am Oliveira, I need to create a scramble. I need to make the fight a complete chaos. He's an incredible finisher, probably the best in the division... If I believe the fight will end via KO or submission, I think it favours Oliveira."
In regards to Makhachev's chances, the former welterweight and middleweight champ said:
"If I'm Makhachev, I need to be careful and technical while standing up. If I get him to the ground, I need to nail him out, put him to the ground and use my ground-and-pound and try to avoid as much as possible the scramble. If the fight will end by decision, I will choose Makhachev."
Watch Georges St-Pierre's fight breakdown here:
Chael Sonnen doesn't believe Charles Oliveira will be able to submit Islam Makhachev
Chael Sonnen has stated it's going to be near-impossible for Charles Oliveira to find a submission victory against an elite grappler like Islam Makhachev.
Discussing UFC 280's main-event on his YouTube channel, Sonnen referred to his own experiences in the octagon. According to 'The American Gangster', it doesn't matter how good a submission game is, it's almost impossible to wrap up a sweaty opponent:
"If Charles Oliveira is gonna be the one getting the finish, I don't believe it's gonna be a submission. I don't believe his jiu-jitsu, no matter how much you love it... is gonna be a factor in this match. Submitting guys is very rare. Submitting guys once they are sweaty and tired, even more rare. Submissions over good guys, next to never happens. So submissions against really good guys, who are sweaty and tired, in championship matches... I can name a couple, but it's really rare."
Sonnen instead believes 'Do Bronx's best chance of finding the finish is likely to come from a KO/TKO on the feet, and gives Makhachev the edge in regards to submission chances.
Catch Chael Sonnen's video here: