“I am going to shock the world” – Charles Oliveira fully confident Islam Makhachev will not get past round 1
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Charles Oliveira (L), Islam Makhachev (R)
Charles Oliveira has risen from being just another lightweight on the roster to one of the most entertaining fighters of the promotion in a short time span.
The lightweight division is considered by most experts to be the most talent-dense and competitive division. You’re lucky if you can string together a couple of wins before eventually asking for a title shot.
Not Charles Oliveira. The Brazilian beat the likes of Kevin Lee, Tony Ferguson and Michael Chandler to get to the belt and then defeated Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje. If not for his weight miss against Gaethje, he would’ve held been lightweight champion right now. Going into UFC 280, the 3rd BJJ black belt holder has amassed a winning streak of 11 fights.
However, according to most people, standing across the octagon from him in under two weeks, Islam Makhachev will pose to him the toughest fight he’s had so far. The two meet for the lightweight title at UFC 280, in Au Dhabi.
In a video recently published online, Oliveira was asked this very question by MMA journalist Brett Okamoto. His simple reply was, “No.”
Elaborating on how he envisions the fight to pan out, he said, “I’m going to shock the world. I’m going to do that in the first round. Opinions are subjective, some people believe I will be the potential winner and some people believe that he will be the potential winner.”
“I’m going to show my background, the number of fights I have had, my contenders, this will come to show on that very night.”, he continued, discussing how his resume simply outclasses Islam Makhachev’s and how the experience against top talent will come in clutch.
Charles Oliveira is on the brink of all-time greatness
What Charles Oliveira has been able to achieve is no small feat.
Firstly, he was brought up in a favela, and the fact that he managed to escape the drudgery of the environment and make it as someone who would eventually hold a UFC belt is truly commendable. However, within the UFC, his turnaround has been simply a spectacle to watch.
After his defeat to Paul Felder in 2017, Oliveira was staring at a dismal 22-8 record in the UFC. Something clicked after that, and since, he has beat the very best fighters in the lightweight division. His faith in his abilities is also something to be inspired by – him being stripped of the belt due to missed weight didn’t stop him from ending Justin Gaethje’s night prematurely earlier this year.
In Makhachev, Oliveira faces a stern test. Given that the Russian is Khabib Nurmagomedov’s supposed heir to the lightweight throne, many people have written the Brazilian off already. As per the UFC website, the odds are stacked against his favour – he is a +150 underdog.
However, if he is to beat the protégé of the man who went 29 fights unbeaten in his career, Charles Oliveira might just begin to be included as one of the all-time greats.
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Udayan Mukherjee
(382 Articles Published)