Charles Oliveira’s 11 vs Islam Makhachev’s 10-fight win streak: Which one is more impressive?


Charles Oliveira’s 11 vs Islam Makhachev’s 10-fight win streak: Which one is more impressive?

Charles Oliveira (L). Islam Makhachev (R)

Charles Oliveira and Islam Makhachev are going to fight each other at UFC 280 on October 22 inside the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. The duo will be fighting for the vacant UFC lightweight championship, which the Brazilian was stripped off, as he missed weight by half-a-pound ahead of his bout at UFC 274.

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The hype around the fight is humongous as both have their unique history. While Oliveira rose through defeats and bad phases in his MMA career, Makhachev is considered as the prospect who will take Khabib Nurmagomedov’s place as lightweight king.

Stylistically it is a great match-up as both fighters are predominantly grapplers who also have decent striking. Even though Oliveira is a former champion and has more experience, considering Makhachev’s wrestling, he will be Oliveira’s biggest challenge till date. Both Oliveira and Makhachev are currently on the top of their game and have finished several opponents in the last few years.

Read More: “Worried Islam could die” – Fans HYPED after Charles Oliveira training footage shows Brazilian pulling off slick wrestling move

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A look at Charles Oliveira and Islam Makhachev’s undefeated winning streak

Charles Oliveira x Islam Makhachev
Olliveira and Makhachev will duke it out for the vacant title

Charles Oliveira joined the UFC back in 2010. In his early years, he didn’t find great success. The Brazilian was struggling to remain consistent with his wins and was getting knocked out by his opponents. However, he worked hard, sharpened his skills, and moved up in weight to club one of the most impressive win streaks in UFC history.

Currently, Oliveira is on an impressive 11-fight win streak that started back in 2018 against Clay Guida. After that, he defeated Christos Giagos, and Jim Miller in the same year.

In 2019, Oliveira again fought a total of three fights, in which he was awarded with the performance bonus for his two wins against Jared Gordon and David Teymur.

Also Read: “Arrogance will kill them” Charles Oliveira mounts a furious criticism of Islam Makhachev, Khabib Nurmagomedov and his camp

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However, Oilveira came into the limelight when he beat both Kevin Lee and Tony Ferguson in 2020. This gave ‘Do Bronx’ a shot at the vacant UFC lightweight title against Michael Chandler at UFC 262. The Brazilian defeated the former Bellator 155-pound champion via TKO and became the new champion.

After his victory against Chandler, Oliveira successfully defended his title against Dustin Poirier at UFC 269. In what was to be his second title defence, Oliveira was scheduled to take on Justin Gaethje at UFC 274. However, ahead of their fight, ‘Do Bronx’ was stripped of the title as he missed weight. Regardless of the unfortunate incident, the fight went on and Oliveira submitted Gaethje in round one.

Similarly, Makhachev too is on an impressive 10-fight win streak which started in 2016 against Chris Wade. Makhachev who trains with Khabib Nurmagomedov does share a lot of similarities with ‘the Eagle’. The Dagestani fighter is an elite wrestler and has dominated fighters such as Gleison Tibau, Arman Tsarukyan, Drew Dober etc.

The fighter first featured in a main event against Thiago Moises and beat the Brazilian via submission. At that time, Makhachev was eagerly pushing his luck for the title shot and called out top fighters, but wasn’t lucky. Finally at UFC 267, he fought a formidable name in Dan Hooker, and finished the fight easily with a first-round kimura. Earlier this year, the Dagestani was supposed to fight Beneil Dariush but that fight didn’t take place. Instead, Bobby Green jumped in to fight Makhachev at short notice and lost the fight via TKO.

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Many fans complain that Makhachev’s resume is inferior to Oliviera’s 11 fight win streak. While Oliveira has beaten the top guys of the lightweight division, the Dagestani has only stopped the fighters who were either rising or were on their way down. However, all the questions will be answered once both the fighters are locked inside the octagon at UFC 280.

Also Read: “There’s Jiu-Jitsu and there’s DAGESTANI Jiu-Jitsu,” Belal Muhammad feels Islam Makhachev finishes Charles Oliveira at UFC 280