On Between the Links, UFC lightweight Terrance McKinney ruffled more than a few feathers. He described deposed champ (or current champ, depending who you ask) Charles Oliveira the greatest lightweight of all time, calling his predecessor Khabib Nurmagomedov “boring” in the process.
While Khabib told ESPN that “Do Bronx” needs to take out the likes of Islam Makhachev to be considered in the GOAT conversation, McKinney wholeheartedly disagreed.
Terrance McKinney Labels Khabib “Boring”, Oliveira Lightweight GOAT
“I think he’s wrong. I think Charles is better in my opinion. He throws hands. He’s been finishing everyone. He’s not just on [a long winning] streak, he’s finishing people. A lot of Khabib’s fights were decisions and he didn’t start finishing people until the end.”
This is despite Charles Oliveira missing weight ahead of his latest title defense, this time against Justin Gaethje. Oliveira managed to finish Gaethje in the first round, but was ineligible to reclaim the title, leaving the lightweight belt vacant.
“[Khabib] did great, he was undefeated, but Charles, to me, is about to be the GOAT of our weight class. That’s my opinion, because he can strike, he can grapple, and he’s just really shown what a champion is. Sll of his fights have been entertaining, I haven’t seen one boring fight from him. And I can name a couple of boring fights that I’ve seen from Khabib. He is right, they’re not in the same playing field. [Oliveira is] 100 percent better.”
McKinney even picked Charles Oliveira to defeat Khabib in the unlikely event that the former champ emerged from retirement.
Predictably, this take precipitated a social media storm, with plenty of commenters blasting McKinney. This prompted “T Wrecks” to reply on Instagram:
“umm it’s called a opinion and as people we all have one and I can speak on whatever I want cause I’d actually step in cage with with no fear so I’ll say whatever the fuck I want respectfully”
Charles Oliveira boasts the most finishes in UFC history, and has a wide variety of finishing moves available to him. Oliveira was once best known for his precise, lethal Brazilian jiu-jitsu, but has in recent years added potent striking to the mix. The most obvious display of his newfound striking ability was when he defeated Michael Chandler in the second round of their contest via TKO, claiming the lightweight belt in doing so.
Is Charles Oliveira on track to become the lightweight GOAT? Let us know what you think in the comments.
