Charles Oliveira’s coach Diego Lima has been outspoken about how irked he was by recent comments UFC Hall of Famer Khabib Nurmagomedov had made.
Speaking to Sherdog, Lima noted that Khabib is someone that did not like trash talking but is doing exactly the same for Makhachev.
“Khabib was always recognized as an example of someone who doesn’t talk, but makes and also for hating trash talkers. Now he is doing exactly what he criticized about McGregor. If he is so sure that Makhachev will beat Charles, why [doesn’t he] send a ‘double contract’ guaranteeing he would face Charles in case of Islam’s loss?,” he said.
Nurmagomedov has been campaigning hard for protege Makhachev to face Oliveira on ‘home turf’ in Abu Dhabi this automn. Oliveira, on the other hand, would prefer to duke it out in Brazil.
Following Oliveira’s victory over Gaethje, even Joe Rogan urged Dana White to make the match a reality.
White has been unhappy with Makhachev ever since the negotiations to be a replacement for Fiziev against Dos Anjos fell through. He’s since insisted that Makhachev and Dariush duke it out for number one contender in the division.
Meanwhile Nurmagomedov has been making disparaging comments about Oliveira going so far as to shade him for missed weight – as if Nurmagomedov didn’t basically drop out of a fight due to a rough weight cut. If anything, Oliveira should get a better manager because in a somewhat similar situation he was stripped of the belt even though his infraction was less drastic.
Regardless of Oliveira and Makhachev, Khabib has ruled out a return.
Back in May, Khabib described his impression of Oliveira:
“He impressed me like little bit, but every fight he goes down,” Nurmagomedov told media. “This one is a little bit bad for him. Every fight he goes down, couple of times. Last fight, it was like, how many? Two, three times knockdowns? With Michael Chandler, with Dustin Poirier, with Justin Gaethje, he always goes down. This is like a little bit questionable, you know. Nobody ever touched my face, and all the time he go down. People cannot talk about like compare me vs. Charles Oliveira.
“When he tapped to Jim Miller, Anthony Pettis, Holloway… it was Charles Oliveira. It was not Khabib. If you want to deserve the name greatest lightweight, he has to beat Islam [Makhachev], Beneil [Dariush], a couple more guys, and then we can talk. He has to be a professional and make weight when he has a championship belt.”