By Lourence Alturino
Image from sportskeeda.com
The vacant lightweight title is on the line this Saturday in Abu Dhabi, as Charles Oliveira steps across the octagon against Islam Makhachev. The biggest card of the year is headlined by one of the most interesting stylistic matchups you can get. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu vs Dagestani Sambo. The 155 pound belt is on the line, who establishes themself as the greatest lightweight on Earth. Will Do Bronx pick right back where he left off or will Makhachev officially takeover?
Charles "Do Bronx" Oliveira
The championship may be vacant, but everyone knows that the champ has a name and its name is Charles Oliveira. Charles was stripped of his title in his last fight against Justin Gaethje, after a missed weight cut. He went on to defeat Gaethje via RD1 submission and is now on a mission to regain the title he feels he wrongfully lost. Do Bronx has a win over every fighter in the top 5 of the LW division, except his opponent on Saturday. Not only does Oliveira win these fights, he finishes them in spectacular fashion. The man with the most finishes in UFC history. Can he get one more finish and restake his claim as the the best lightweight on the planet?
Keys for Oliveira:
- Keep the fight on the feet
- Finish the fight quick
Islam Makhachev
The heir to Khabib Nurmagomedov's throne. While Islam has yet to defeat a top 10 fighter in the division, he is currently on a 10 fight win streak and has dominated every fighter that has stepped in front of him. Makhachev is an elite grappler, he puts you on the ground, holds you down there, and finishes you. Islam does this every single fight with ease and that's what makes him so great. Throughout his entire career, he has lived in the shadow of Khabib, but now that the Eagle is retired, it's Islam's time. It is Islam's time to takeover, but will he be able to start that takeover on Saturday?
Keys for Makhachev:
- Push Oliveira back
- Keep fight on the ground
- Beware of submissions
Breakdown:
The way these styles match up against one another, that's what makes this fight as highly touted as it is. On the surface, its grappler vs grappler. BJJ vs Sambo. Most fighters avoid being on the ground against Oliveira as much as possible because of how Charles can get a submission from any position. However, Islam lives on the ground, he can't necessarily avoid the ground because that's his go-to.
I'm sure Charles is going to be very comfortable on his back if Islam gets him there, but Charles should really keep this fight on the feet. He has the striking advantage against Makhachev and he wants to finish Islam via KO in the first round. Charles is always moving forward, never taking a step back. So it's a must for Islam to push him backwards.
Final Prediction
It all depends on where this fight ends up in the octagon. If the fight is close to the fence, Islam wins. If the fight is right in the middle of the cage, Charles wins. Such a difficult fight to predict with how great these two are, but I believe Do Bronx gets the win. Charles has more paths to victory and more championship experience. As dominant as Islam is, he has not fought the elites of the 155 pound division like Charles has. Charles fought them all and finished them. Charles "Do Bronx" Oliveira takes a seat back in his lightweight throne via RD3 TKO.
Comments