Islam Makhachev has hit out at Charles Oliveira ahead of the pair’s UFC lightweight title fight, labelling the Brazilian’s callout of Conor McGregor ‘embarrassing’.
Oliveira was stripped of the belt in May after missing weight, one day before his scheduled title defence against Justin Gaethje. Oliveira was also made ineligible to win back the gold in that fight, which he won via first-round submission to establish himself as No 1 contender instead.
Oliveira will face Makhachev, 30, for the vacant title at UFC 281 in Abu Dhabi this October, though the 32-year-old had been angling for a bout with former dual-weight champion McGregor.
“He tried to call [out Nate] Diaz, McGregor, but he forgets my name,” Makhachev told ESPN. “And when they ask about me, he says he needs money or something like this.
“But when he fights with Dustin [Poirier] or Justin Gaethje, he doesn’t think about money. Now when he says he has to fight Islam, he either tries to say: ‘I want to fight in Brazil, I want to fight in the end of this year, or I need some money.’”
Oliveira enters UFC 281 on an 11-fight win streak, having submitted Gaethje and Poirier in his last two bouts. Meanwhile, Makhachev has won 10 fights in a row.
The Russian is a childhood friend of Khabib Nurmagomedov, who also serves as a coach for Makhachev.
Nurmagomedov preceded Oliveira as UFC lightweight champion and relinquished the belt in 2020 after retiring undefeated.
