UFC commentator Michael Bisping is as intrigued as the rest of us when it comes to the main event at UFC 280. Charles Oliveira and Islam Makhachev will square off for the UFC lightweight title, and Bisping went deep in his take on the upcoming fight on his YouTube channel.
“[Oliveira is] going to have to be careful. If he wants to be the champ, if he wants to win this one and go home with another shiny belt against Islam Makhachev, he’s going to have to be perfect because Islam doesn’t make mistakes. He’s on a 10-fight win streak.
Bisping: Oliveira Must Be “Perfect” Against Makhachev
How many decisions? One, two – four decisions in there: six stoppages, four decisions. So that’s a tremendous win streak, but it’s the way that [Makhachev] does them. He goes out there, and he’s almost perfect in his approach.”
Makhachev might not boast the undefeated record of his mentor Khabib Nurmagomedov, but he’s riding a ten-fight winning streak. Makhachev’s penchant for vicious finishes and his dominant grappling make him a fascinating foil for Charles Oliveira, who boasts the highest finish rate in the UFC.
“In my opinion, Charles Oliveira, the most exciting fighter on the UFC roster. He really is, because he almost gets finished in a lot of them and he’s got to be careful. You don’t want to get caught off Islam Makhachev because Islam Makhachev is very clinical. He doesn’t make mistakes.
You could argue for Charles Oliveira that the reason he is so exciting is because he gets dropped, is because he finds himself in bad positions, and that’s never planned, but it makes for a fantastic fight. But Oliveira doesn’t plan for those things – that’s your opponent having success.”
Oliveira’s three title fights followed similar trajectories. He appeared to be losing on the feet, enduring knockdowns and from Michael Chandler, Dustin Poirier, and Justin Gaethe, before emerging to finish the fight on his own terms, whether by TKO or a classic submission. His jiu-jitsu is among the finest in the sport of MMA, making him by far the most lethal grappler Makhachev has faced yet.
Despite winning against Justin Gaethje in his latest outing, Charles Oliveira was stripped of the belt due to his failure to make weight ahead of the fight.
Assuming both parties come in under the lightweight division’s 155-pound limit, it should be a phenomenal fight. Do you think Oliveira can deliver a perfect performance, or will Makhachev overwhelm him? Let us know in the comments.
