Islam Makhachev continued the work of the king – Sport – Kommersant

Russia waited for the third UFC champion in its history, the main promotion in mixed martial arts (MMA). They became Islam Makhachev, the ward of the champion of the very first and greatest – Khabib Nurmagomedov. At the Abu Dhabi tournament, Makhachev took the title of the best in lightweight (up to 70 kg) from the experienced Brazilian Charles Oliveira. Oliveira did not last even two rounds against the Russian, having first run into a terrible blow, and immediately after it – into a simple and effective choke hold.

After this fight, the organizers of the UFC 280 tournament could not, of course, not call second and coach Islam Makhachev to the octagon. After all, he was a very famous person. A man whose words the public must have heard.

Khabib Nurmagomedov ended his phenomenal career two years ago as the undefeated UFC lightweight champion, the benchmark of mixed martial arts. But he did not part with MMA and decided that his friend needed his help – another incredibly talented Dagestan fighter, another pupil of the father of the MMA king Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, who was just going to the top. And Makhachev, of course, warmly thanked his friend for this support.

He conquered the top, having won the 11th consecutive victory in the UFC – the same spectacular, as convincing as most of the previous ones, although he was opposed by an opponent much more dangerous than anyone Islam Makhachev had dealt with before. It seemed that this should be a difficult fight, a fight in which nuances will decide a lot.

In the end, Charles Oliveira had his undoubted trump cards – resourcefulness, patience, decent striking technique. Yes, at least a colossal experience of top battles, including against people like Makhachev, who put celebrities on wrestling techniques.

But none worked. In the first round, Islam Makhachev twice transferred Charles Oliveira to the ground. And the second transfer resulted in a rather difficult test for the Brazilian. He desperately tried, lying on his back, to catch some counter chances, but the Russian fighter was in complete control of the situation.

In the second round, Oliveira seemed to be able to fix it. Now the opponents were fighting in the stance, and it seemed like the territory of a champion who can hit with both hands and feet. But everything for Charles Oliveira taxied to disaster. He went on the attack and ran into an unexpected blow towards him. He hit the Brazilian right in the head and knocked him to the floor. Oliveira – it was too clearly visible – was in a rather deep knockdown, and in this state it was not easy to figure out how to defend himself. Champion didn’t come up with it.

Makhachev, instantly reacting to the fall of the Brazilian, and a few seconds later put an end to the fight with a simple but effective choke. And five minutes later, together with Khabib Nurmagomedov, he was already talking about his plans for the future.

The main one comes down to a fight with UFC featherweight champion (up to 66 kg) Alexander Volkanovski. And the Australian, by the way, is now the first in the UFC in the ranking of the strongest fighters, regardless of the weight category. And he doesn’t seem to mind fighting Makhachev.

Islam Makhachev became the third Russian UFC champion in history. Before him, they were Khabib Nurmagomedov and Petr Yan, who competes in the bantamweight division (up to 61 kg). Yang also fought at UFC 280 and suffered a humiliating loss to American Sean O’Malley. In the second round, the Russian earned a cut over his right eye. The blood from the wound gushed like a stream, but despite this, Yang quite adequately held out against the lanky opponent with his unusual technique, even dominated by segments. However, in the end, two of the three judges still gave the win to O’Malley.

Alexey Dospekhov