Former UFC welterweight title challenger Gilbert Burns, a Brazilian, believes Russian Islam Makhachev is a good fighter, but is confident that his compatriot Charles Oliveira can beat him.
Oliveira takes on Makhachev in the UFC 280 headliner on October 22 with the vacant lightweight title on the line.
Despite never losing his title inside the Octagon and his impressive win streak, Oliveira is a pretty big underdog going up against Makhachev.
Many in the combat sports world also believe the Brazilian will meet his match with the wrestling of Makhachev.
Not Burns, however.
“I heard Makhachev is very good. ‘He finishes a lot of guys, very good submission game, he’s better than Khabib.’ But the numbers don’t say that,” Burns said in a recent interview. ” … He’s not Khabib. He lost by knockout. He got taken down by Thiago Moises. He doesn’t have a lot of finishes. … Look at the finishes that Charles has. I think Charles’ curriculum is way better than Islam, his striking is way better than Islam’s.
“Charles is on a very good momentum. I think Charles is going to win, it’s not going to be easy. It’s going to be a war but I think Charles is going to win.”
Gilbert Burns: Charles Oliveira Is On A Different Level With Striking
Ultimately, the fight is bound to be a stand-up battle if Makhachev is unable to get Oliveira down.
And if that’s the case, Burns expects only one winner.
“People say he [Oliveira] got dropped. Yeah, he got dropped but he stood toe-to-toe with Chandler, Gaethje, Dustin,” Burns added.
“Who does that? Oh, McGregor did. He got knocked out. Oh, Eddie Alvarez did? He got knocked out.
“He stood toe-to-toe with the best strikers and beat every single one of them. … Yeah, Khabib beat [guys] but he didn’t strike. The guy’s a grappler and he’s striking with everybody. I do believe Charles is going to get an impressive win against Makhachev.”
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