Charles Oliveira and Islam Makhachev are set to fight for the UFC lightweight title at UFC 280. Former UFC contender turned mixed martial arts analyst Chael Sonnen recently broke down the stylistic matchup, discussing the differences between Brazilian jiu-jitsu and Sambo.
Speaking on his podcast Beyond The Fight, Chael Sonnen previewed the UFC 280 matchup between Charles Oliveira and Islam Makhachev, stating:
“This is a massive battle between jiu-jitsu and Sambo, and Sambo isn’t coming out and trying to get credit ahead of time because their guy is a three to one dog, and jiu jitsu isn’t even mentioning it because they’re not sure that their guy’s techniques work. You have two sides that are scared.”
Sonnen continued:
“We’re going to see jiu-jitsu versus Sambo, period. We haven’t seen this matchup before. These boys are going to the ground. We know this ahead of time, but Sambo isn’t coming out saying ‘keep your eye on us’ and jiu-jitsu isn’t willing to risk what’s at stake here.”
Sonnen added:
“Jiu-jitsu has gone as far as to say Oliveira is the best jiu-jitsu player in MMA… Anybody I could take out of the UFC and put in Abu Dhabi and I expect them to bring home first, second, or third, be in the medal hunt, I don’t believe Oliveira is going to be the guy that you put forward.”
Finally, he stated:
“If, from his back, from a guard position, Charles could finish Islam, it would be absolutely amazing, but there’s nothing historically that would make you think that… Can Islam pass his guard? If he does, very bad. Can Islam pound him and put Charles on the defense? If so, very bad… These are the kinds of things that are at stake.”
Watch Chael Sonnen break down the matchup between Charles Oliveira and Islam Makhachev below:
Charles Oliveira and Islam Makhachev set to make UFC history
Charles Oliveira will enter UFC 280 on an eleven-fight win streak with his last loss coming in 2017. Islam Makhachev hasn’t lost since 2015, entering a ten-fight win streak. UFC 280 will mark the first time in the promotion’s history that two fighters on a double-digit win streak will fight for a belt.
Despite the historic meeting, neither fighter will enter UFC 280 as the lightweight champion. Oliveira, who held the belt for a year, was stripped of his title prior to UFC 274. He lost the belt as a result of missing weight by half a pound. Makhachev, on the other hand, will be fighting for a UFC title for the first time in his career.