Charles Oliveira recently wished his rival and reigning UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev a speedy recovery. Following his UFC 302 win over Dustin Poirier, which was the third successful defence of the 155 pound he captured from Oliveira, Makhachev told Russian outlet Ushatayka that he had sustained a few injuries during the fight.
According to Makhachev, the other injuries have been healing, but a ligament tear in his hand continues to bother him. The 32-year-old said that he might have to undergo surgery and could remain on the sidelines for the rest of the year.
@MMAOrbit shared the news update on X. Oliveira wished Makhachev a speedy recovery, writing:
“@MAKHACHEVMMA Hey man! I wish you a quick recovery. Get well soon! God bless you.”
Fans took to the post’s comments section and expressed their admiration for Oliveira.
“Respectful and classy as always, that’s the champ in my heart still,” @the3els commented.
“Good guy Do Bronx,” @KoofTheDay commented.
“True sportsmanship Charles,” @PopcornCatalyst commented.
“I still wanna see the rematch!” @ShowInvestment commented.
“You are such a class act!” @asifchach commented.
“Charles, you’re too nice, how can I be like you?” @millzeez commented.
When Islam Makhachev offered to help Charles Oliveira prepare for his potential welterweight debut
Charles Oliveira was expected to rematch Islam Makhachev at UFC 294 in October 2023. However, an injury sustained in training camp forced him to pull out of the bout. Makhachev ended up facing Alexander Volkanovski, who stepped in on short notice.
Meanwhile, Oliveira went on to face Arman Tsarukyan in a ightweight title eliminator bout at UFC 300. Unfortunately for the Brazilian, he ended up on the wrong side of the judges’ decision. A few weeks after the defeat, Oliveira expressed his desire to move up in weight and take on former interim UFC welterweight champion Colby Covington.
During the UFC 302 media day interaction, Makhachev expressed the desire to help “good guy” Oliveira prepare for a move up to 170 pounds:
“Charles is a good guy. If I can help him one day, he can join us in our camp in Dagestan. He has very good striking and high-level grappling. We can help him with the wrestling.”
Check out Islam Makhachev’s comments below (6:57):