The opponent of Russian UFC champion Islam Makhachev may be Charles Oliveira

Last weekend, it seems, the next opponent of the only Russian UFC champion Islam Makhachev was determined. The head of the main mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion, Dana White, insists that Makhachev must defend the champion title in the 70 kg category in a duel against the Brazilian Charles Oliveira, who confidently knocked out a very strong fighter Beneil Dariush. It’s about a rematch. It was in the fight against Oliveira last year that Makhachev got the belt, defeating the Brazilian ahead of schedule, in the second round.

The fact that he is “looking forward” to the fight between Charles Oliveira and Islam Makhachev, Dana White told reporters after the end of the UFC 289 tournament in Vancouver. White added that such a fight should happen because it “makes sense” in light of another Oliveira performance. In Vancouver, he met with the famous American fighter of Iranian origin, Beneil Dariush, who is in the top five of the best lightweights (up to 70 kg) in the UFC, and defeated him extremely effectively. In the second round, Oliveira brought down a hail of blows on Dariush, and the referee was forced to stop the match due to the inability of the Brazilian opponent to resist.

Charles Oliveira himself, after his success, also made it clear that he considers the issue with the duel against Islam Makhachev, in fact, resolved. He said that he “must go through Makhachev” because he has a championship belt.

True, Oliveira noted that he does not yet know when he will be able to enter the octagon again, and at the moment he intends to “return to his family home” and “relax a little” while his team agrees on the conditions for a future fight.

We are talking about organizing a rematch – a fairly common occurrence in the UFC. It was in the fight against Charles Oliveira that Islam Makhachev won the title in the 70 kg category, special for Russia. It was dominated for several years by his undefeated and hugely popular compatriot Khabib Nurmagomedov, who, after his retirement, became the coach of his friend Makhachev and helped him climb to the top. The duel between Islam Makhachev and Charles Oliveira for the then vacant title took place in October last year, and after it the idea of ​​a rematch seemed to have lost its relevance. The fact is that Makhachev won too convincingly.

Clearly surpassing his opponent in activity and aggressiveness, in the second round he sent the Brazilian to the floor with a powerful blow, and then applied a choke hold that was deadly in its effectiveness.

The status of a superstar of the highest rank Islam Makhachev, now the only domestic champion of the UFC, secured in February. In a fight that took place in Perth, he, however, with great difficulty, by the decision of the judges, coped with the famous Australian Alexander Volkanovski, who had risen to lightweight from the previous one (up to 66 kg), who led the classification of the strongest fighters, regardless of the weight category. The option of a rematch between Volkanovski and Makhachev seemed very likely. But the Australian athlete eventually chose to return to his native weight and meet with the Mexican Yair Rodriguez in it. As for the category of Makhachev, the fight between Charles Oliveira and Beneil Dariush only confirmed that there is hardly a more dangerous opponent for the Russian in it today than the Brazilian he had once defeated.

Alexey Dospekhov