"Be sure, this fight will not pass the first round"– Charles Oliveira believes his skills inside the octagon outweigh Islam Makhachev's by a huge margin
Charles Oliveira recently shared his opinion on his upcoming opponent ahead of their scheduled lightweight title clash.
Oliveira is all set to lock horns with Islam Makhachev at the main event of UFC 280. The event is scheduled for October 22 at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. In this match, Oliveira will attempt to reclaim the lightweight belt after being stripped of it ahead of his second title defense at UFC 274.
On an episode of UFC 280 Embedded, Oliveira seemed confident about taking on the Dagestani. The former lightweight champion detailed how he has already defeated all top-ranked lightweights while Makhachev will be facing a top 5 opponent for the first time.
The Brazilian also asserted that Makhachev does not deserve the title shot and is just riding the "Khabib wave." Oliveira said:
"I think we have to respect my opponent. Islam is coming with a 10-fight win streak. He is very smart with his game. However, I think he's been surfing a wave that is not his, but Khabib's... Because in my opinion, he should be fighting against a Top 5 contender. Who's the ranked contender that Islam fought? No one!"
'do Bronx' added:
"On the other hand, my 11 victories were against 11 good fighters... I fought all of the top 5...I knocked them out, submitted them...Of the 11 victories, only 1 was by decision...With all due respect, Charles Oliveira, 'do Bronx', is one step ahead of everyone. Everyone wanted to see this fight over here, but I came in to ruin their expectations. Be sure, it will not pass the first round."
Check out the first episode of UFC 280 Embedded Series below:
Islam Makhachev's manager believes Charles Oliveira is the 155-pound champion
After being stripped of his belt at UFC 274, Charles Oliveira might not officially be the champ. However, he is still believed to be the uncrowned champion of the lightweight division by many, including Makhachev's manager Ali Abdelaziz.
Weighing in on the highly anticipated title fight, the Dominance MMA CEO acknowledged the Brazilian as the UFC's lightweight champion. Speaking to Canal Encarada, Abdelaziz said:
"Charles Oliveira is the UFC lightweight champion. We are the contender, we just go there to try to challenge the champion to take something very very heavy from him."
You can check out Ali Abdelaziz's discussion of Charles Oliveira vs. Islam Makhachev below: