Khabib Nurmagomedov has given three reasons as to why he thinks Islam Makhachev will beat Charles Oliveira in their UFC 280 lightweight title fight.
Makhachev looks to win the title previously held by UFC legend Nurmagomedov when he faces former champion Oliveira in Abu Dhabi on October 22. Oliveira was hoping to make the third defence of the 155lb belt at the event, but he was stripped of the title after missing weight for his fight against Justin Gaethje in May, in which he won by first-round submission.
Oliveira is the underdog heading into the vacant title fight despite being more experience than Makhachev, who has just one career loss and is unbeaten in his last 10 fights. Nurmagomedov has cited Makhachev's skills, amateur experience and age as the reason he will win the fight, but his last point seems contradictory given the Russian is only a year younger than Oliveira.
Who wins at UFC 280 - Charles Oliveira or Islam Makhachev? Let us know your prediction in the comments section below
"First of all, his skills. I think Islam is more skilled than Oliveira," he told UFC Russia. "Secondly, his experience as an amateur fighter and he's at his peak, Islam isn't 23 or 26, he's 30 and a week after the fight he will be 31. It's the best time for any athlete. It's a time where your mental and physical state should be in synergy. Sometimes your mental state is high but your physical state goes down, or when you're 26 at your physical peak you're mentally not there yet.
"I think Islam is better overall, of course there are some dangers that we are working on where Islam needs to be careful. Other than that, Islam should roll over him. It's my opinion, somebody might not like it but again I'm just stating my opinion. People say that's disrespectful but I see no disrespect here."
Comments made by Nurmagomedov, Makhachev and their manager Ali Abdelaziz angered Oliveira when the fight was announced. "They're being arrogant and that's what will kill them," Oliveira told MMA Hoje. "The arrogance from their manager, former fighters, their arrogance will kill them. If they think they're going to come here and think this is a joke, I'm going to tell you one thing. No-one will ever hit me harder than life has hit me."
Nurmagomedov has insisted that even if Makhachev loses to Oliveira, it won't make him consider a potential return to the cage having retired from fighting last year. 'The Eagle' promised his mother that he wouldn't fight again after his submission win over Justin Gaethje following the death of his father and coach Abdulmanap in July 2020.
