After months of mystery, the fight between Charles
Oliveira and Islam
Makhachev was finally confirmed for
UFC 280 on Oct. 22 in Abu Dhabi.
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“Everybody knows how I wanted to fight in January in Brazil with
Conor [McGregor], but he never answered,” Oliveira told
Sherdog.com.
The UFC is not expected to return to Brazil until next year, but
Oliveira pointed out that Makhachev and Khabib
Nurmagomedov were vocal in the media about wanting to face “Do
Bronx” on his home soil. Instead, the event will be much closer to
Makhachev’s native Dagestan.
“They talked a lot of s—t to the media, that they would go to
Brazil to beat me up in front of my fans,” he said. “They had the
opportunity to agree to that since I tried hard to make that fight
at home, but they never accepted. We even tried to make it in a
neutral territory (New York or Las Vegas), but what ended up
happening? The champion will fight on the opponent’s home
soil for the third consecutive time. But as I proved with Dustin
[Poirier] and Justin [Gaethje], that’s not a problem. When the cage
closes it’s just me and my opponent. I´m going to Abu Dhabi to shut
Islam and Khabib´s mouth in their home.”
Oliveira respects Makhachev as an opponent, but he made it clear he
will not be afraid to go to the ground with the Dagestani
grappler.
“I don’t like to focus on what my opponent will bring to me. My
focus is always on what I’ll bring to him,” Oliveira said.
“I’m better than him standing up and also on the ground. He
said he would beat me on the ground. If he wants we can start the
fight from the guard position. He can start from the top.
“I’m the guy who has the most submissions in UFC history. I
have the submissions and bonus record. I´m not there to play. They
must be careful about what they are saying because I’m the biggest
problem of that division. I have three months in camp and I’ll be
more than ready to show him what I´m capable of.”
After the fight was confirmed, Brazilian were excited to resume the
rivalry between jiu-jitsu and sambo that often shows up on
Oliveira’s social media. One of Oliveira´s followers asked him to
wear a T-shirt depicting the message “If jiu-jitsu was easy it
would be called sambo” in the Octagon if he is victorious at UFC
280, but Oliveira shot that possibility down.
“If Khabib and Islam like to promote fights disrespecting other
martial arts, that´s not my style,” he said. “I respect all styles
and would never do that. And I’ve been saying that we must be
careful about what we talk about. Who are the last opponents
Makhachev defeated and how did he defeat them? I beat all
the toughest guys of the division via submission or knock out.
I don’t leave it in the judges’ hands, I make it happen.”
While speculation has been rampant that Nurmagomedov would end his
retirement to avenge his teammate if Oliveira were to defeat
Makhachev, “Do Bronx” believes it’s more likely that the
ex-lightweight champ lives up to his word. However, he is confident
that the title of No. 1 lightweight belongs to him.
“If you look all my numbers and the level of the opponents I
have beaten, I don’t think that title is even in dispute. The best
lightweight now is Charles
Oliveira. If Khabib really promised retirement [after his
father’s deat], I think he will respect that. I don’t believe a
religious guy like him would break that promise. But if I submit
Makhachev and he wants that fight, first we have to talk about
money with UFC.”
Oliveira is also willing to face featherweight champion Alexander
Volkanovski in a superfight if he is victorious at UFC 280.
“Of course I´m a 100% focused on Makhachev, who is a very tough
opponent,” Oliveira said. “But if God blesses me with a win with no
injuries, my team already knows that my focus is to make the main
event in Brazil in January against Volkanovski, who is a
great fighter and very respecful.”