Khabib Nurmagomedov is sure that his protege will be victorious at UFC 280.
There is a lot riding on the UFC 280 main event. For Charles Oliveira, he must prove that he can first of all make the championship limit of 155 pounds and then secondly win. There has been a lot of hype surrounding Islam Makhachev in recent years. He has been methodically climbing the UFC lightweight rankings and now with ten wins in a row is at the doorstep of his first UFC championship.
The rise of Makhachev was in part because of his teammate and coach Khabib Nurmagomedov. There is a growing group of Dagestani fighters all under the tutelage of Nurmagomedov that are starting to come up in their various promotions. It seems that Makhachev could be the best of them all and has the chance to prove just that on Oct. 22 in Abu Dhabi.
Khabib Nurmagomedov is choosing his friend to win and easily
There has been some back and forth between the Oliveira camp and the Makhachev camp in the leadup to this bout. Nurmagomedov himself mentioned that he did not even believe that Oliveira would show up to the fight. Now with the event just one week away, it seems both men will have their chance at UFC gold.
Both of these fighters have amazing ground games. Oliveira and Makhachev both have been known to submit their opponents, but can also bang on the feet. Nurmagomedov was known for his Sambo wrestling much like Makhachev and he knows just how dangerous this tactic can be. He spoke about the fight and how he sees it going in an interview with the UFC.
“Islam is at this peak. I think Islam is better overall,” he said in an interview with UFC Russia. “Of course, there are some potential dangers that we’re working on where Islam needs to be careful. Other than that Islam should roll over him. That’s my opinion. October 22 we want to get over him.”
Makhachev and his team have been preparing for this moment and are hoping to walk away with some UFC gold around his waist. Not being one to look ahead, Nurmagomedov actually scolded the interviewer when he asked what would be next, but he did make another prediction for the UFC 280 fight card. He mentioned the other lightweight fight on the card, Beneil Dariush vs. Mateusz Gamrot.
“The winner of that fight deserves a title shot 100 percent,” he said.
The former champion has spoken and now the fans will wait another ten days to see if his predictions will hold true. In the meantime, fighters will begin to arrive in Abu Dhabi and the excitement will continue to grow.
