Ali Abdelaziz explains why hiring a wrestling coach ahead of UFC 280 was Charles Oliveira's "biggest mistake"
Charles Oliveira has been training with former Iranian MMA fighter and wrestling coach Alireza Noei in preparation for his upcoming lightweight championship fight against Islam Makhachev at UFC 280. The decision, according to Makhechev's manager Ali Abdelaziz, was the "biggest mistake" on Oliveira's part.
The unreserved CEO of Dominance MMA, who's known to speak straight from the shoulder, manages some of the biggest names in combat sports today. Even before the main event for UFC 280 was announced, Abdelaziz made strong claims on Twitter that Oliveira did not stand a chance against his client.
It’s not happening islam going to make this look easy if they fight no disrespect to Oliveira but this is my opinion Abu Dhabi Brazil America same result twitter.com/DerekBrunson/s…
While previewing the upcoming fight in an interview with ESPN MMA, Abdelaziz claimed that Charles Oliveira was deviating from the path that took him to championship glory by inculcating extensive wrestling training in his regime:
"You don't change what got you here. What got Charles Oliveira here...he's reckless, he's spontaneous, he does off-the-wall stuff. Now he's [learning] how to wrestle. And I think the biggest mistake they [Oliveira's team] did...they brought a wrestling coach."
The black belt in jiu-jitsu under Renzo Gracie provided an explanation as to why the strategy would not pay dividends against an accomplished wrestler like Makhachev:
"Now he's focusing on not getting taken down. I'm going to tell you something. He likes the clinch, he likes to be against the cage, Islam Makhachev the best clinch fighter in UFC history. In the clinch, there's nobody like him."
Watch the full interview below:
Ali Abdelaziz reveals the only way Charles Oliveira can defeat Islam Makhachev
Islam Makhachev's team is completely confident of the Dagestani's skillset and championship caliber. The No.4-ranked lightweight contender hailing from the 'Land of the mountains' walks into the biggest fight of his MMA career when he faces Charles Oliveira in the main event of UFC 280 this weekend.
In an attempt to amp up the fight, Makhachev's manager Ali Abdelaziz made a bold claim that the 31-year-old lightweight has never been taken down or submitted in the gym, not even by Khabib Nurmagomedov.
While previewing the upcoming fight in the aforementioned interview, Abdelaziz asserted that he only envisions one way for Oliveira to get his hand raised:
"Humbly, I respect Charles Oliveira, I respect his team. I think Islam is going to dominate him. I don't think it's going to be a close fight. The only way Oliveira can win is if he catches him with a lucky punch."