Islam Makhachev Should Be the Next Fight for Charles Oliveira; Here’s Why
Charles Oliveira made a statement with a dominant win over Justin Gaethje at UFC 274. ‘Do Bronx’ had a chip on his shoulder coming into the fight given how his belt was stripped away from him for missing weight by 0.5 pounds. In the short while that the fight lasted, both men secured multiple knockdowns, but it was ultimately Oliveira who sunk in a rear-naked choke and got yet another submission win in the UFC.
Following the fight, Adam Catterall of BT Sport shared a mind-boggling statistic related to Charles Oliveira. He said, “It has taken Charles Oliveira less than 4 rounds of combined competition time to finish Michael Chandler, Dustin Poirier & Justin Gaethje. 19 minutes, 43 seconds. Madness.” This just goes to show how impressive ‘Do Bronx’ has been against elite fighters.
https://twitter.com/AdamCatterall/status/1523952011464654850
After the win, Oliveira took the chance to call out Conor McGregor for a fight. The Irish superstar responded to the call-out on Twitter and even mentioned that he was undefeated against Brazilians. However, at this point in time, it does not appear as though McGregor will be Oliveira’s next opponent.
Why Islam Makhachev is the fight to make for Charles Oliveira?
Islam Makhachev is currently ranked 4th at 155-pounds. Khabib Nurmagomedov’s protégé is currently on a 10-fight win streak, his most recent win being a dominant submission win over a short-notice replacement in Bobby Green. Makhachev was scheduled to face Dariush, who pulled out of the fight due to an injury.
Dariush was supposed to be Makhachev’s first top-ranked opponent and a litmus test to see how good he really is. After the fight fell out, UFC president Dana White stated that he is inclined to reschedule the fight.
Makhachev signed the contract to fight Dariush and showed up on the said date and secured a win. He should not be delayed a title shot and punished for his opponent’s inability to make it to the fight. Moreover, both Makhachev and Oliveira have clearly established themselves as the two best lightweights in the UFC at the moment, it would be a travesty to not see these two men locked in a cage against each other.
