Khabib Nurmagomedov doesn’t believe Charles Oliveira will show up to UFC 280.
The UFC lightweight championship title is currently vacant. The former champion Charles Oliveira missed weight in his last fight against Justin Gaethje and forfeited the title in the process. He will have another shot at regaining the belt when he takes on Islam Makhachev at UFC 280 in Abu Dhabi.
There has been a lot of hype surrounding Makhachev coming into this title fight. He is currently riding a ten-fight winning streak and has been dubbed “the next Khabib” due to his tutelage under the former UFC lightweight champ. Oliveira is also on a long winning streak with 11 wins in a row. Oliveira has been fairly quiet throughout his career so far but did call out Makhachev and his team, including Nurmagomedov for being arrogant which ruffled the feathers of Makhachev and his crew.
Khabib Nurmagomedov had doubts that Charles Oliveira will show at UFC 280
Nurmagomedov saw this trash-talking as a sign that Oliveira was getting nervous. Now he feels that Oliveira might not even make it to the fight after all.
I just think Charles Oliveira will not show up in Abu Dhabi and the UFC will replace Charles with Beneil Dariush.
Regardless of who the opponent will be, @MAKHACHEVMMA is on his way to becoming the best in the world #ufc280
— khabib nurmagomedov (@TeamKhabib) September 16, 2022
“I just think Charles Oliveira will not show up in Abu Dhabi and the UFC will replace Charles with Beneil Dariush,” Nurmagomedov wrote on Twitter. “Regardless of who the opponent will be, @MAKHACHEVMMA is on his way to becoming the best in the world #ufc280.”
Nurmagomedov has revealed that there will be a backup for the main event of UFC 280. Number six ranked Beneil Dariush will serve as a backup for this bout. The UFC sometimes utilizes a backup for important fights in case something goes wrong with one of the fighters at the last minute. The backup, in this case, Dariush, will cut weight and weigh in right alongside the other fighters on the card. If he is not needed then he will just continue with his own bout.
With Oliveira having missed weight before, having Dariush on hand is a good plan. He has been in title contention talks himself for a while now and with seven wins in a row, he could be getting his chance. He is slated to take on Mateusz Gamrot in that same card in Abu Dhabi.
