Charles Oliveira questions if Makhachev will even want to take things to the ground against him

Former lightweight champion Charles Oliveira isn’t apprehensive knowing he will be facing Islam Makhachev who trained under MMA legend Khabib Nurmagomedov. Instead, he questioned if Makchachev would be willing to go to the ground with him.

UFC lightweight belt has been vacated after Charles Oliveira failed to make weight at UFC 274 back in May. After defeating Gaethje, Oliveira is set to compete for the vacant lightweight belt against Islam Makhachev in October.

The main event of UFC 280 will have an ideal match between two phenomenal grapplers in the lightweight division. Charles Oliveira possesses a great skill set in Brazilian Jiu jitsu and currently holds the record of most submission wins in UFC history. While Islam Makhachev comes from the Dagestan school of wrestling that has a particular skill set that greatly complemented Khabib Nurmagomedov and made him a Hall of famer.

During a recent press conference, Charles Oliveira expressed his confidence in his jiu jitsu. He admitted that grappling is in Makhachev’s field of expertise. However, ‘do Bronx’ doesn’t think that Makhachev would even try to take him down.

“The ground is his turf, so he will definitely try to do that, but if he does, will he want to bring down the best submitter in the history of the UFC? I’m not sure.” Oliveira said.

He added,

“We’ve seen that he is the type of fellow who tries to take the fi ght to the ground, but that doesn’t hinder me at all. So I’m ready for everything that he brings.”

Several MMA fans also doubted Makhachev for his worthiness for the title. He barely competed against top ranked opponents and never faced a dominant grappler opponent. However, judging from lightweight top 5 rankings, only Makhachev hasn’t received a title shot. The 30-year-old is also undefeated since joining the UFC and has competed 12 times.

It’s worth noting that when Makhachev was pitted against ADCC winner Davi Ramos, the bout turned out to be a boring kickboxing bout as Makhachev was extremely apprehensive about getting anywhere close to Ramos’ guard. Ramos lost a decision and has since asked to be released from the UFC.

Meanwhile, Charles Oliveira eagerly awaits their Abu Dhabi clash.