Khabib Nurmagomedov believes Islam Makhachev will dominate Charles Oliveira on the ground.
Lightweight top contender Oliveira will take on Makhachev for the vacant title in the headlining bout of UFC 280 this Saturday at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. ‘Do Bronx’ goes into the bout looking to reclaim the belt he lost on the scales in his last outing against Justin Gaethje in May at UFC 274.
Ahead of their nearing matchup, former lightweight champion Khabib has been taking verbal jabs at Oliveira.
Khabib Shares Bold Prediction for UFC 280: ‘Islam is going to ride Charles Oliveira like a horse’
At a recent event of his own fight promotion Eagle FC, Khabib expressed his support for Makhachev, who he believes will easily beat Oliveira.
“This is what Islam is going to do with Charles Oliveira. He’s going to ride him, like how you ride your horse.”
The dominant Dagestani grappler enters the bout as a betting favorite. Oliveira will be his first top-five-ranked opponent under the banner. It will mark the first match in UFC’s history where both fighters go into the bout on at least a 10-fight winning run, with Makhachev risking his 10-fight win streak, and Oliveira putting his 11-fight win streak on the line.
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‘The Eagle’ believes Oliveira has no ground game
Oliveira is regarded as one of the most dangerous finishers, recording 19 to hold the most number of finishes in the promotion. His opponents tend to hesitate to go to the ground with him due to his prolific jiu-jitsu abilities. However, Khabib believes Makhachev has the skills to outgrapple Oliveira on the ground.
“Save this video because lots of people underestimate Islam. They think Charles Oliveira has ground game. He doesn’t have ground game. If you tap eight times in UFC, how can you say you have ground game? You tap eight times.”
This isn’t the first time Khabib took aim at Oliveira as his camp has continued to turn up the heat, playing mental warfare during the build-up.
