After his loss to Islam
Makhachev in a lightweight title bout at UFC 280 this past
October, Charles
Oliveira turned down an opportunity to fight in Rio de Janeiro
on Jan. 21.
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During his time off since that defeat, “Do Bronx” has also avoided
doing media. However, Oliveira recently broke his silence in an
interview with Brazilian podcast Super Lutas,
where he discussed the loss to Makhachev. The former lightweight
champion, who doesn’t yet have a date for his UFC return, revealed
that he hasn’t yet watched the bout but wouldn’t change anything if
he faced the Dagestani again.
“Islam was better. I have no excuses but I wouldn’t do anything
different from what I did,” he said. “I saw some people talking
s—t, saying I was walking with lions in the week of the fight. They
know nothing. I know how much I trained for this fight.”
Makhachev is scheduled to make his first 155-pound title defense
against reigning featherweight champ Alexander
Volkanovski at UFC 284 on Feb. 11. Oliveira sees Makhachev as a
slight favorite in the fight.
“If Islam is able to close the distance and take him down, there is
nothing much left to do,” Oliveira said. “But Volkanovski has great
takedown defense and strong hands. If he is able to move and
control the distance, he may surprise Islam. It will be a question
of who will implement his game plan better.”