"He is bothered" - Chael Sonnen believes Charles Oliveira is "infuriated" by being a betting underdog against Islam Makhachev
Chael Sonnen thinks Charles Oliveira is angry that he is a betting underdog going into the UFC 280 title fight against Islam Makhachev. Despite finishing Michael Chandler, Dustin Poirier, and Justin Gaethje, 'do Bronx' is a +150 underdog going into the bout against Makhachev.
According to Sonnen, Oliveira is bothered by bettors undermining his chances against the Dagestani standout. 'The American Gangster' has seemingly come to the conclusion based on the fact that 'do Bronx' has been complaining about the fight being in Abu Dhabi, which is considered Makhachev's home territory. Sonnen said in an episode of Beyond The Fight:
"Charles Oliveira is a 3 to 1 dog, by the way. I mean he is a 3 to 1 underdog. It has infuriated him. That is what a competitor is. He is bothered by you. By the bettors. Truly is."
"You want to talk about, 'I got to get him to the ground'. You want to talk about, 'He hasn't been deep'. You want to talk about, 'He hasn't been there with the opponents', 'I got a right hand', 'I can switch to southpaw'. You want to start talking about these things, Charles Oliveira did none of them, he talked about the location, says he get a screw job."
Watch Sonnen's YouTube video below:
Charles Oliveira claims he would have been 'sad' if not granted underdog status against Islam Makhachev
Charles Oliveira is currently riding a magnificent eleven-fight winning streak that has seen him go through the who's who of UFC's lightweight division. Although Islam Makhachev is on a ten-fight win streak of his own, the Dagestani's competition has been nowhere close to Oliveira's.
Despite his evidently stellar form, Oliveira opened up as a sizeable +345 underdog against Makhachev.
Islam Makhachev opens up as a favorite in a potential fight with UFC Lightweight Champion Charles Oliveira:
Charles Oliveira +345 (69/20)
Islam Makhachev -415 (20/83)
(odds via @betonline_ag) 🏆 https://t.co/HHrqAxtZFB
However, the uncrowned lightweight champion is seemingly happy to be going in as an underdog. 'do Bronx' claims that he would have been sad if not granted the underdog status as it would mean less money for those who bet on him. The Brazilian told MMA Fighting podcast Trocação Franca:
“I’m very happy to be the underdog in this fight so everybody makes money. That’s the reality. I get sad when I’m not the underdog so people don’t make money.”