In one of the most anticipated matchups of the year, Islam Makhachev is a huge favourite to beat Charles Oliveira. Many UFC legends such as Khabib Nurmagomedov has picked Makhachev to dominate Oliveira.
However, Sean O’Malley‘s head coach has picked Oliveira to beat Makhachev for the lightweight title. Tim Welch also went on to say that Olievira would tone down the confidence Khabib Nurmagomedov has in his Protege.
“For Islam to win the fight, he has to not make one mistake for 25 minutes. Especially if he takes Charles down, how dangerous Charles is off his back. I am picking Charles to win this fight.”
Although he does not sport the same undefeated record like his brother, Islam has been on a tear through the rankings. He has not fought any top five rankers. However, he’s going straight for someone who knows a thing or two about fighting contenders, the former Champ Charles Oliveira.
Now Charles Oliveira has been on a run since he defeated Michael Chandler to become the Lightweight Champion. The Brazilian defended his title against the likes of Dustin Poirier, whom many regarded as the uncrowned Champion, and Justin Gaethje, who was a title challenger not too long ago.
Charles Oliveira vs Islam Makhachev: Fight Prediction and Breakdown
Charles Oliveira has every right to call himself the real champion as he was stripped of the title on the weighing scales. And the fact that he’s defeated a lot of big names should make him the obvious favorite against Islam Makhachev.
However, Makhachev is the favorite going into their matchup, which reminds us of an up-and-coming Khabib Nurmagomedov going against the Brazilian, Rafael Dos Anjos.
The question that remains to be answered is whether the Russian’s grappling will reign supreme over the Brazilian’s killer jiu-jitsu. In the striking department Charles has significantly more experience and craftiness, with his Chute Box style of Muay Thai. After all, he scored a perfect knockdown against Justin Gaethje. In the stand-up game Charles would be a favourite as he’s improved multiple aspects of his striking over the years.
Islam has that dominance factor attached to him that Khabib had. And due to that he’s often looked at as an unstoppable force. But, Oliveira is something of an immovable object as you can knock him down, but he comes back to finish you.
Questions remain whether Charles can continue his winning streak or not, but Islam is definitely not going to be an easy fight for Charles, in fact he is going to be one of the biggest challenges of his career, and he’s going to test his ground game pretty well.
