Thiago Moises has faced both of the major lightweight title contenders in Beneil Dariush and Islam Makhachev. With recently deposed champ Charles Oliveira most likely to fight next for the vacant belt, Moises discussed which fighter poses the greatest threat to Oliveira, and why it will be far closer than most would think.
“Dariush uses his jiu-jitsu more and that would be good for Charles, who has enough jiu-jitsu to grapple with him. Makhachev has better wrestling, but he does more of an anti-game on the ground. If he can get [Oliveira] to the ground, he won’t grapple with Charles, I think he’ll just hold him there until time runs out. He’s a very smart fighter, so I believe it would be more difficult.”
Thiago Moises: Makhachev vs Oliveira is “50-50”
Moises also discussed Islam Makhachev’s fight plan, his toughness, and the aura surrounding Makhachev thanks to his mentor, former lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov.
“I think that a fight [between Makhachev] and Oliveira is 50-50. Charles has great chances of submitting him or maybe even knocking him out, because Charles is doing great on the feet, but I also see Islam taking this fight to a decision and doing his thing of getting to a position and holding there and not giving him any opening. He doesn’t do anything, but doesn’t let you do anything either.
I think Islam is very tough. But he’s no superhuman. He has flaws, he gets tired as well, and I don’t think he’s like Khabib.”
As for Thiago Moises, he faced Christos Giagos at UFC Vegas 57. “I’ve seen his fights and his rhythm drops a lot from the second to third rounds. So my goal is to knock him out or submit him in the end of the fight.
I’m using [my past losses] in a positive way, to get there hungrier to win this fight. I could have grappled more against Joel Alvarez because he’s very tall. It was hard to trade with him.
I wasn’t feeling comfortable to trade on the feet, but wasn’t seeing many dangers either. But then I got punched in the eye and lost my eyesight, and that’s when the fight changed its course. If I had followed my strategy and taken him down early, the result would have been different.”
Do you agree with Moises’ comments on Makhachev vs Oliveira? Is that a fight we’ll see by the end of the year? Let us know in the comments.
