Charles Oliveira returns to the Octagon on October 22nd to face No. 4 ranked lightweight contender Islam Makhachev. The two fighters will headline UFC 280 to crown a new king of the lightweight division after ‘Do Bronx’ was stripped of the title due to missing weight ahead of UFC 274 in May. Despite losing the title without actually losing the title, Charles Oliveira didn’t miss a beat, defeating challenger Justin Gaethje via first-round submission.
Now he fights to reclaim the title he never lost against Khabib Nurmagomedov‘s protege. The Dagestani fighter has won 10 straight inside the Octagon and is primed to start a new era at 155 pounds.
Ahead of the highly anticipated match-up, UFC play-by-play commentator John Anik joined UFC bantamweight star Sean O’Malley and Timbo on his YouTube show ‘TimboSugarShow.’ There, the three men talked about the upcoming clash between Charles Oliveira and Islam Makhachev. While Anik can’t legally give his predictions or betting advice due to his role as an on-air analyst, he made it very clear that betting against Charles Oliveira is never a good idea.
“I would not walk to a window and bet against Charles Oliveira right now. Like, why would you do it? I would find a baseball game, find a basketball game. Find something else to bet on. I just think that dude is a freak. The danger factor everywhere. I’m stealing that from Dan Hardy, but it’s so pronounced that there’s just no area of safety. It’s as compelling a match-up as we can put together.
“Islam I think is such a nuanced athlete just in terms of some of the little subtleties to his game that you guys see and I only know about because of Daniel Cormier. His ability to get you down and keep you there. Some of the subtleties on the ground are really incredible, but with Charles, all bets are off. I don’t even know what the betting line is right now. I think it’s a close fight. I certainly think Charles deserves to be the favorite, but big picture, I would never. Even if contractually I could bet on UFC, I would never bet against Charles right now and I said that going into his last three fights.”
UFC returns to Abu Dhabi 😮
UFC 280: OLIVEIRA vs MAKHACHEV ➡️ October 22 as Charles Oliveira takes on Islam Makhachev for the vacant lightweight championship 📍Etihad Arena, Yas Island.
#ADShowdownWeek #inAbuDhabi #UFC280 pic.twitter.com/QLlXuFdxii
— Rayna Tours (@raynagroup) August 22, 2022
Sean O’Malley Wants to See Charles Oliveira Face Conor McGregor if He Gets Past Islam Makhachev
Speaking about Charles Oliveira and what may come next after UFC 280, Sean O’Malley expressed in seeing ‘Do Bronx’ get that big money title fight against Conor McGregor should he have an impressive showing against Islam Makhachev at UFC 280.
“I mean, he’s the champ. Everyone can kind of agree with that. It’s been crazy how his career has played out. I would love to see him go in there and submit Islam and get that fight with Conor. I think that’s a massive fight anytime Conor fights, even if he doesn’t deserve it. Charles deserves that f*cking huge fight. And I would love to see Conor come back. I mean, f*ck it, throw him in a title fight. I don’t care. I want to see Conor fight again.
“It’s crazy to me that when Conor fights, it’s a million pay-per-view buys minimum. That’s what he’s doing. That’s what I find so fascinating and so sweet about how big of a star he is. He can fight anyone and a million pay-per-views guaranteed. That’s the sh*t I get f*cking just excited about.”
