Charles Oliveira will be facing another title challenger in their home turf later this month when he takes on Islam Makhachev for the vacant lightweight belt.
Oliveira has had a long tenure in the UFC culminating with him becoming a champion after spending longer than a decade in the promotion.
UFC color commentator Joe Rogan recently discussed what he believes is the moment that changed everything for Charles Oliveira.
Charles Oliveira (33-8 MMA) and Islam Makhachev (22-1 MMA) will square off at UFC 280.UFC 280 will take place at Yas Island, Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Arena on October 22nd.
32-year-old Oliveira’s most recent win came in May at UFC 274 against Justin Gaethje (23-4 MMA).
Prior to his 11 victories in a row, Oliveira had ups and downs. Since the summer of 2018, he has been unbeatable.
UFC commentator Rogan spoke about the impending match and what, in his opinion, changed Oliveira on “The Joe Rogan Experience”:
“Something happened to him and that’s a great example of judging a guy by his losses. If you look at his losses to Cub Swanson, if you look at his losses to Paul Felder, you’re like, there’s no way this guy is the best in the world.”
“Something happened and I think they said that it’s the birth of his daughter. When his kid was born, he just changed everything. He just became like this ferocious f**king assasin!”
Rogan continued, saying:
“No one has ever been that way. You see two different versions of them: one that is unstoppable and one that sort of has a hint of quitting in it.”
The honor of having the most submission wins inside the octagon belongs to Charles Oliveira. The Brazilian is a jiu-jitsu third-degree black belt.
Joe Rogan lauded Oliveira’s grappling skills:
“If you get a guy like Charles Oliveira who’s that good at jiu-jitsu, he could strangle a f**king heavyweight… Oliveira’s jiu-jitsu is some of the best I have ever seen in MMA.”
“It is like world championship caliber jiu-jitsu. But he’s doing it in an MMA match. He’s the one guy where it doesn’t matter what happens in the fight, if you go to the ground with him you are in deep s**t.”
In preparation for the forthcoming lightweight championship bout between Charles Oliveira and Islam Makhachev at UFC 280, Beneil Dariush has been added as a backup.
Khabib Nurmagomedov predicted that his protégé Makhachev will face Dariush. This is because Nurmagomedov suspects Oliveira would not end up coming to Abu Dhabi.
Regardless of the challenger, Nurmagomedov is convinced Makhachev will win on October 22 at the Etihad Arena. In a recent tweet, Khabib stated:
“I just think Charles Oliveira will not show up in Abu Dhabi and the UFC will replace Charles with Beneil Dariush. Regardless of who the opponent will be, @MAKHACHEVMMA is on his way to becoming the best in the world #ufc280”
I just think Charles Oliveira will not show up in Abu Dhabi and the UFC will replace Charles with Beneil Dariush.
Regardless of who the opponent will be, @MAKHACHEVMMA is on his way to becoming the best in the world #ufc280
— khabib nurmagomedov (@TeamKhabib) September 16, 2022