Khabib Nurmagomedov has responded to Charles Oliveira’s location concerns for UFC 280.
Khabib Doesn’t Care What Oliveira Wants
During a recent interview the UFC Hall Of Famer was asked about Charles Oliveira previously campaigning for UFC 280 to take place in Brazil.
At the event, Oliveira will take on Nurmagomedov protégé Islam Makhachev for the vacant lightweight title. The Makhachev camp will certainly have an advantage.
UFC 280 will be taking place in Abu Dhabi, which will be enemy territory for the former champion Oliveira. Despite Oliveira’s previous campaigns to have the fight in Brazil, the UFC opted to go in a different direction.
Khabib doesn’t seem to be too concerned about what Oliveira wants, however. In a recent interview, the ex-lightweight king simply stated, “Who cares what he wants?”
“Who cares what he wants?,” Khabib asked. “He can not make decision. Islam can not make decision. We just fighters. Islam signed to UFC and you have to listen to UFC. Same thing with Charles Oliveira.
“We don’t choose location. UFC send us location, we fly. If they tell us go to Brazil, we go to Brazil. No problem. Abu Dhabi, it’s our territory. I think he understands this and he tried to, a little bit, avoid. But now, it is what it is.”
“We’re going to move to Dubai. We’re going to be there for like, 40 days. We’re going to be there 40 days before the fight, no jet lag.
“It’s very important because it’s desert. It’s a completely different place. I have fought there a couple of times, I know how to feel. Islam is always there with me, we know how to feel. You have to be there before the fight. We are just fighters you know? Islam is signed with the UFC it doesn’t matter if they told us to go to Brazil. We have 90 days before the fight and this for me as a fan of MMA is going to be the most exciting fight of this year right now.”
Many have speculated that Khabib himself could consider coming out of retirement if Oliveira should emerge victorious against Makhachev.
The idea being that Nurmagomedov would want to avenge Makhachev, setting up one of the best stylistic matchups the UFC has ever seen.
Oliveira’s jiu-jitsu has been some of the most dominant fans have ever seen, while Nurmagomedov is one of the most dominant grapplers in mixed martial arts (MMA) history.
Of course, it all depends on how things play out on October 22.
