Charles Oliveira Says Islam Makhachev Did Not Earn Title Shot
Former UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira will face Islam Makhachev for the vacant lightweight title at UFC 280 this Saturday. However, Oliveira does not think Makhachev went through the same grind as other top contenders.
“I think Islam deserves all the respect in the world,” Oliveira said. “But I think he should’ve fought somebody maybe in the top-5 like I did, not just surf on someone else’s wave and skip the line like he did.”
Quote via MMA Fighting
That someone that Oliveira is referring to is Khabib Nurmagomedov. Makhachev and Nurmagomeodov have a very close relationship. The pair are life-long friends and train together at American Kickboxing Academy, one of the best gyms in the world.
“It’s for the history and everything he’s done,” Oliveira said of Nurmagomedov’s role in this matchmaking. “If it was any other guy, [Makhachev] would have to walk the walk that I had to walk, knocking on people’s doors, trying to get to a top-5. The reason why this fight is happening is because of him, that’s the real.”
Quote via MMA Fighting
Prior to receiving a title shot, Makhachev went on a ten-fight win streak that began in 2016. In this streak, Makhachev’s top wins came against Dan Hooker, Bobby Green, Thiago Moises, Drew Dober, Arman Tsarukyan, and others.
Makhachev was booked to fight Beneil Dariush, a top-five lightweight, in February of 2022, but that bout was canceled after Dariush broke his fibula before the bout.
In addition, Makhachev is receiving this title shot, in part, due to Oliveira. Oliveira defeated three of the division’s top fighters in Michael Chandler, Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje in a little over a calendar year. As a result, Oliveira needed someone to fight in this lightweight title bout. That left Makhachev as the only viable title option.
The argument could also be made that Oliveira did not have a tremendous resume prior to his first lightweight title shot in 2021. Oliveira got his title shot after ranked wins over Tony Ferguson and Kevin Lee. Both were good wins at the time, but they have aged like milk. That was also a different era as Oliveira received his title fight after the retirement of Nurmagomedov which greatly affected the title picture at the time.
Regardless of how each fighter earned their title shot, Oliveira and Makhachev both will have an opportunity to leave UFC 280 with the lightweight title. Ultimately, that is what matters.
