Is Charles Oliveira an ‘Easy Fight’ for Khabib Nurmagomedov? Islam Makhachev Certainly Thinks So

Posted on by Matt James

A long-time compatriot of UFC lightweight legend Khabib Nurmagomedov, Islam Makhachev spoke to ESPN’s Brett Okamoto in a recent interview. Makhachev shared his thoughts on the current lightweight champion and also angled to fight Oliveira for the undisputed strap. Makhachev has been named by many to be the next in line to fight for gold given his dominant run thus far.

Both Makhachev and his mentor, Khabib Nurmagomedov, have been publicly pushing for a title fight and it seems as though they are as close as can be.

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Who takes it? Khabib Nurmagomedov or Charles Oliveria?

Despite the fact that he’s likely up next for gold, Makhachev also expanded on the idea of Khabib Nurmagomedov coming back and making a splash against Oliveira. According to Makhachev, Oliveira would be an ‘easy fight’ for Khabib Nurmagomedov, given his prowess on the mat. Chiefly, it’s the top control and pressure that would be the separating factor in a scrap between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Islam Makhachev.

“How you’re gonna beat him? Like he’s gonna give him submission or what?” “This is like easy fight for Khabib because Khabib has the most dominant grappling on top. He’s gonna take him down and hold him there very easy.”

“I think honestly this is a very easy fight for Khabib because stylistically, all his pressure is not gonna work against Khabib because Khabib pressures all his opponents, makes them tired, hold them there.” [h/t bloodyelbow.com]

Additionally, Islam Makhachev didn’t take his eye off the prize and is sure that he’s truly the active lightweight in line to face Oliveira. The only man standing in his way, according to most fans, is Beneil Dariush, who has made a strong claim for himself in recent times.

“But we don’t have to say Khabib’s gonna beat Charles,” said Makhachev. “I’m gonna beat Charles, and everybody is gonna understand.”

Oliveira vs Makhachev is likely to be the closest version of Khabib Nurmagomedov vs ‘Do Bronx’ that the fans could ever ask her. Nurmagomedov has been very rigid in his decision to retire from active competition and it doesn’t seem like any amount of money is set to change that.