The fight between Islam Makhachev and Charles Oliveira, which was supposed to take place on October 21 at the UFC 294 event, has been canceled. Ever since Charles lost his title to Islam last year, he has been single-minded in his pursuit of a rematch to reclaim the top spot.
Unfortunately, the Brazilian will have to wait to get his rematch, as recent reports reveal that Charles has been forced to withdraw just 11 days prior to his UFC main event fight against Islam Makhachev. The reason for the same was that he suffered a nasty cut above his right eye during sparring on Monday.
Charles Oliveira has withdrawn from his fight with Islam Makhachev at UFC 294.
The UFC is working on a rematch between Makhachev and Alexander Volkanovski.
h/t @CCLegaspi pic.twitter.com/tdgibzdzkO
— Covers (@Covers) October 11, 2023
Khabib Nurmagomedov, the long-time training partner and mentor for Makhachev, gave his opinion on the withdrawal of Charles Oliviera from the fight. The former undefeated UFC champion posted a video reacting to the news. He said, “Ok, this is the situation brother. Islam is the world champion right now. If somebody can make 155 pounds and the UFC says they are a contender, who cares?”
He added, “I told Islam, brother it doesn’t matter, you’re the world champion. Volk, Charles, Poirier, Justin… it doesn’t matter. It’s supposed to be Charles? Ok, he pulled out but we already beat him and we don’t care about this”.
Islam has already defeated Charles Oliviera once to win the lightweight championship crown. It was a rather one-way fight where Islam defeated Charles by way of submission in the 3rd minute of Round 2. Furthermore, Khabib shamed Charles Oliveira for pulling out at the last minute and showed his confidence in Islam Makhachev.
About last news #ufc294 pic.twitter.com/xYu1uGYCZl
— khabib nurmagomedov (@TeamKhabib) October 11, 2023
Khabib portrays the insane level of confidence within the camp of Makhachev with his words. Moreover, he went as far as to say that if UFC brings King Kong to fight against Islam at 155 lbs then he will beat him as well.
Khabib Nurmagomedov gives his verdict on Islam Makhachev’s new opponent at UFC 294
The CEO of UFC, Dana White, revealed that it took only a phone call to get the new opponent, Islam Makhachev, for the UFC 294 main event. The Australian professional mixed martial artist Alexander Volkanovski accepted the bout on short notice, despite also recently undergoing surgery for an arm injury in July.
Volkanovski, who has already fought against Makhachev once, where he lost a unanimous decision, will have a rematch with him once again. On the rematch, Khabib said, “But if they want Volk again, the first fight was very good a very competitive fight but we know and their team knows we won a unanimous decision – it was not even a split decision, it was a unanimous decision.”
On Alexander Volkanovski he added, “Yes, Volk was looking good in that fight but he lost. And he knows, his team knows and all the world knows he lost. They want to bring him in again, we’re here. Islam is always on weight, on point, and ready to go. We have five more hard days of training and we’re ready for Abu Dhabi. Let’s go!”
Even Khabib knows that the last fight was pretty well fought between the two fighters. Volkanovski gave tough competition to Makhachev, but he lost in the end. Hence, it will be interesting to see what the result of this fight is going to be.
The confidence is sky high with Khabib and Makhachev, regardless of the opponent. But can they back it up with their performance in Abu Dhabi next Saturday?