Dagestan journalists gave a forecast for the fight Makhachev – Oliveira

The long-awaited duel between Dagestani MMA fighter Islam Makhachev and Brazilian Charles Oliveira for the vacant UFC Lightweight Championship belt will take place in three days, on October 22. The fight will be the main event of UFC 280 in Abu Dhabi (UAE).

Both athletes have long winning streaks in the UFC. Makhachev has not lost since 2015 – he has ten victories in a row. Oliveira won 11 fights in a row, his last loss was in 2017.

According to bookmakers, the favorite is Makhachev. And what are the expectations of the upcoming fight among Dagestan sports journalists, the correspondent of “MK in Dagestan” found out. By the way, not all respondents predict the victory of Islam.

Shamil Kurbanov, RIA “Dagestan”.

For Islam, this is the most significant fight in his career, for many years he went to the title fight, while Charles Oliveira already owned the belt. I think Islam is over-motivated and comes into the fight at his best functional form.

Islam, of course, is good at striking, but I think in this fight he will try to use his main trump card – wrestling. It is clear that the Brazilians are also quite good in wrestling, they are especially good at choking, painful holds. Islam, of course, needs to be extremely concentrated, because if he suddenly falls for a suffocating or painful hold, it will be quite difficult to get out of this situation in a duel with Oliveira.

I still expect Islam to win by decision. I think there will be no early victory, and the judges will give preference to Islam. His path has been long, and he is coming to his logical conclusion.

Kurban Ragimov, NNT TV channel.

The fight against Oliveira is the main test in Makhachev’s career. Top contenders never agreed to fight him, but everything changed in the summer of 2021 after his impressive breakthrough to 4 positions in the UFC lightweight rankings. This fight should show the world the real level of the Dagestan mixfighter. The team of Islam does not hide its proven plan for battle over the years. On his side is physical strength and an excellent level of struggle. Makhachev is able to simply wear down an opponent and prevent him from working.

On the contrary, Oliveira is a master of chokeholds. He is not afraid of being transferred to the ground – this is his element. Plus, the Brazilian is very patient, “survivable”, in recent fights he has proved this more than once. On the other hand, Charles is exhausted, he cuts a lot and misses.

Predicting in MMA is a thankless task, but in terms of skill set, I still bet on Makhachev to win. It will be extremely difficult, as it will not be easy to finish Oliveira. My opinion: the victory of Islam in rounds 3:2.

Ruslan Bakidov, Youth of Dagestan.

Makhachev-Oliveira is the budget version of Nurmagomedov-Ferguson. Budgetary, by no means in terms of the quality of the fighters, but in terms of media coverage and public interest in this confrontation. And yet, Islam is Khabib’s protégé, in a sense, similar to his older comrade (more versatile, less talkative), and Oliveira is somewhat reminiscent of Tony Ferguson – lanky, uncomfortable, capable of punching from any position and representing a danger both below and top and side.

Therefore, the expectations are approximately the same as those that arose every time the UFC announced a new fight between Orel and the Mexican babayka – the Dagestan is both more powerful and more capable, but … his counterpart can throw out something like that at any second and win.

I hope for Islam to win, and also that, having won the belt, he will finally come out of Khabib’s shadow and be perceived by the UFC audience as a self-sufficient fighter, and not as Nurmagomedov’s sparring partner.

Shikhmagomed Nurmagomedov, Makhachkala News.

The expectations of the fight are hard to describe because anything can happen in this fight. The confrontation between an elite wrestler and no less elite jitser, who can also knock each other out. This fight has many options to finish, from a stoppage in the first round to a split decision by the judges.

I predict the victory of Charles Oliveira, as I pay tribute to his skills on the ground and invaluable experience. Fighting in the best promotion in the world since 2010 and having a sambishen record behind you is worth a lot. I think that the fight will not go beyond the second round, and, most likely, the Brazilian will catch the Dagestani in a painful hold during the next attempt to transfer from Makhachev. It is also worth keeping a knockout option from Oliveira, but this is unlikely, since Islam’s style is very thoughtful and neat.