Charles Oliveira has given his thoughts on how he believes the UFC lightweight title fight between Islam Makhachev and Alex Volkanovski will play out.
Makhachev won the vacant lightweight title by defeating Oliveira by second round submission at UFC 280, and will now put his title on the line against featherweight champion Volkanovski, who is hoping to make history by becoming a double champ in his home country of Australia at UFC 284. In addition to the 155 pound title, the pound-for-pound number one spot, which is currently held by the Aussie, will also be up for grabs. The Dagestani currently holds the number two spot in the P4P rankings.
Charles Oliveira On Makhachev vs Volkanovski
Speaking to SUPER LUTAS (as translated by Sherdog), Oliveira gave his thoughts on the highly anticipated matchup between Makhachev and Volkanovski.
“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.”
When asked about his loss to Makhachev, Oliveira said that he wouldn’t make any excuses because the Dagestani was the better man on the night.
“Islam was better,” Oliveira said. “I have no excuses but I wouldn’t do anything different from what I did. I saw some people talking s***, saying I was walking with lions in the week of the fight. They know nothing. I know how much I trained for this fight.”
Do you agree with Charles Oliveira?
