“He will lose,” Chael Sonnen reacts to Charles Oliveira’s claim that he can start the Islam Makhachev fight of his back
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Charles Oliveira and Islam Makhachev
Chael Sonnen might give a lot but just not give enough credit to Charles Oliveira’s jiu-jitsu that he can win the fight on his back while an elite wrestler like Islam Makhachev is on your top. Oliveira is a former UFC lightweight champion who lost his title only due to missing weight at the weigh-ins of UFC 274, the fight of which he won the next day but unfortunately, without having the belt wrapped around his waist. At UFC 274 main event, Oliveira defeated Justin Gaethje in the latter’s own home state of Arizona, the United States.
Oliveira has now been bestowed with an opportunity to get his title back, only if he defeats another fellow title challenger in Islam Makhachev, who is the mentee of former UFC lightweight champion and Hall of Famer Khabib Nurmagomedov. Both Oliveira and Makhachev are elite grapplers and are on a double-digit winning streak. Their fight will happen at UFC 280 in Abu Dhabi on October 22, 2022, and the fight card so far seems to be the most stacked UFC event of this year.
Chael Sonnen wonders if Charles Oliveira can stop Islam Makhachev’s takedowns
In one of the videos on his Youtube channel, MMA Legend Chael Sonnen talks about how Oliveira is sorta delusional to openly call for a challenge that he can start the fight from his back on the ground against Makhachev. Sonnen, a wrestler himself, is trying to tell the pressure one feels from the bottom position when under the strong control of someone on the top.
“If Charles’ back hits the ground he is losing from that moment,” says Sonnen “From that moment, until his back is no longer on the ground, he is losing and you may like that or you may not. This isn’t my opinion, this is the history of the sport. I don’t care if you look like a black belt and he looks like a blue belt, if you’re on your back from that moment, you’re getting beat. So I only have to ask you one simple question can he [Oliveira] can stop the takedown [of Makhachev]?“ Sonnen concludes.
What do you make of this claim made by Sonnen? Do you think he is right in his assessment? Who do you think wins between Oliveira and Makhachev come UFC 280? Oliveira is a phenomenal specialist in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu whereas Makhachev is an elite wrestler just like his friend and mentor Khabib was during the latter’s time in the UFC before his retirement. Other fights in UFC 280 are a bantamweight title fight between the champion Aljamain Sterling and the challenger TJ Dillashaw and a bantamweight bout between Sean O’Malley and Petr Yan.
Also Read: “He’s boring” – Khamzat Chimaev reacts to Israel Adesanya’s recent fight at UFC 276
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Abhai Singh Tanwar
(1386 Articles Published)