Picture Credit: Twitter
C harles Oliveira and Islam Makhachev are all set to take on each other for the vacant lightweight championship at UFC 280 on October 22, 2022, at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, UAE. The match-up between a third-degree black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and the former combat sambo world champion has left everyone excited for the fight. The war of words has also started between the two parties.
While Islam Makhachev has got support from the likes of Former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov who claimed that the Russian will easily beat the Brazilian, Charles Oliviera's coach has made a bold prediction ahead of the big match.
Alireza Noei has claimed that Islam won’t be able to take down Charles as the Brazilian is well-prepared for Makhachev’s popular move.
Noei said that being a wrestler himself he knows that Islam Makhachev relies on his wrestling pedigree to take down opponents with trips. He is also well aware that the Dagestani maintains top control with his brute strength and disables his opponent by controlling their limbs. And he has claimed that Charles Oliviera won’t succumb to this strategy as he can’t be stabilized on the ground.
"I'm a wrestler, right? And when it comes to wrestling, he is a lot more grounded than other athletes. He's strong because of that. I tried it [disabling the limbs to establish top-control] with Charles a lot now, but you can't. I'll tell you with Charles, you can't stabilize him on the ground,” said Noei in a recent interview. "I think in that fight [vs. Islam Makhachev], Charles won't fall. He won't fall. Islam won't be able to take Charles down."
Notably, Oliviera has hired former Iranian MMA fighter Alireza Noei in an attempt to emulate his opponent's high-pressure wrestling approach. A few days back, the Iranian also shared a video of the two training. Meanwhile, Makhachev has a strategy in place for Charles as he tweeted, “First round warm up, second round drag him to deep water, third round get business done Inshallah. Can’t wait for Oct 22”.