Islam Makhachev

Charles Oliveira and Islam Makhachev will clash for the vacant UFC lightweight title at Oct. 22's UFC 280 event.

The announcement was made Saturday during the UFC Long Island broadcast.

UFC 280 will take place at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, and Oliveira-Makhachev will headline the card.

The 32-year-old Oliveira won the vacant UFC lightweight title in a second-round technical knockout win over Michael Chandler at UFC 262 in May 2021.

He followed that up with a successful defense against Dustin Poirier at UFC 269 in December 2021, winning by third-round submission, but that would prove to be his final defense.

Prior to a scheduled defense against Justin Gaethje at UFC 274 in May, Oliveira failed to make weight and was stripped of the title.

Gaethje would have become the new champion if he beat Oliveira at catchweight, but Oliveira won by first-round submission.

Oliveira is in the midst of an 11-fight winning streak and owns a career record of 33-8. His last four victories have come against Tony Ferguson, Chandler, Poirier and Gaethje, establishing him as the clear top dog in the lightweight division following the retirement of Khabib Nurmagomedov.

In Makhachev, Oliveira will be facing an opponent whom Khabib had a hand in training, as they are both from the Dagestan region of Russia.

The 30-year-old Makhachev is 22-1 in his career and has won 10 fights in a row, including a first-round TKO over Bobby Green in his most recent outing at UFC Fight Night 202 in February.

Oliveira is easily the toughest matchup Makhachev has faced in the UFC so far. Of the 11 men Makhachev has beaten in the UFC, only Dan Hooker (No. 13) and Arman Tsarukyan (No. 10) are currently ranked in the Top 15 of the lightweight division.

The current UFC rankings have Oliveira atop the lightweight division with Makhachev in fourth behind Poirier and Gaethje. Since Oliveira has already defeated Poirier and Gaethje, Makhachev was the next logical opponent.

At UFC 276, Alex Volkanovski didn't leave much room for interpretation.

First, he defeated the great Max Holloway for the third time, dominating the former champ to defend his featherweight title and close the door on their rivalry.

Then, on no uncertain terms, he reiterated his desire to move on to greener, heavier pastures.

"I just proved to you that I want to be in this Octagon as much as possible,” Volkanovski said after Saturday's fight at T-Mobile Arena, per Damon Martin of MMA Fighting. "I want to be busy. I want to move up [to lightweight] and go for double champ, and I'll keep two divisions busy. Charles [Oliveira], whoever gets that belt, no disrespect, I'd love to move up, get that double-champ status."

He's certainly earned the right to try his hand.

After taking out Holloway via unanimous decision in the co-main event, Volkanovski is now 25-1 overall, 12-0 in the UFC and 4-0 in consecutive title defenses. During the performance, he outlanded Holloway (23-7) by a 199-127 margin, a far greater difference than their two previous matchups. If that's not a cleaned-out division, it's pretty darn close.

There are still bows at featherweight; Josh Emmett or the winner of the bout between Yair Rodriguez and Brian Ortega on July 16 come to mind. Another high-profile name who has thrown himself into the ring is Henry Cejudo. But let's hit the brakes on that one right now. As great as the semi-retired Cejudo was, he's still a flyweight who stretched to make bantamweight. He'd be massively undersized against Volkanovski, a featherweight who has competed at welterweight.

In any case, lightweight is clearly Volk's preferred destination, and he wants to go straight to a title shot. The former rugby player should have no trouble adding the requisite mass. However, with the lightweight belt sitting vacant and with an injured hand clouding Volk's return timeline, his request requires a bit of a thought exercise.

Oliveira will likely be one-half of the lightweight title bout whenever it's announced. But who else might be in the mix for Volk at 155 pounds, regardless of whether he gets to cut the line? Here are five possibilities listed in no particular order.

Charles Oliveira

Let's get the obvious choice out of the way first. You can rearrange Oliveira, Volkanovski, middleweight champ Israel Adesanya and welterweight champ Kamaru Usman at the top of the pound-for-pound list, but no matter how you slice it, this matchup would give you two of the four best fighters on planet Earth.

But here's the rub: Oliveira has repeatedly called for a date with Conor McGregor, whenever McGregor returns from that gruesome leg injury (the general target is early fall).

So that may leave Volkanovski—and everyone else—on the outside looking in when it comes to the lightweight title picture. But there are even more complications. Oliveira recently told Helen Yee Sports that he's willing to move up a weight class if it means securing the McGregor fight. No shade on Oliveira for following the money, but it further complicates the scenarios at 155.

Dustin Poirier

Poirier appears to be on a collision course with Michael Chandler following a cageside fracas at UFC 276. Still, you know he'd love one or both of the following things to happen: 1) another shot at the lightweight title and 2) something with a lot of zeroes behind it.

A mega-bout with Volkanovski would satisfy the second criterion, and it could satisfy the first if Oliveira is more fixed on McGregor to the point that he'd walk away, if only temporarily, from the division he ruled for roughly a year .

If Poirier and Volkanovski were to lock horns, Poirier's pressure and inside boxing style could limit the effectiveness of Volkanovski's feinting and movement.

No matter what else happens, it would be hard to deny a title shot to the winner between these two.

Islam Makhachev

Makhachev is often painted as the third wheel in this division's title race after Oliveira and McGregor. Further, guys like Volkanovski and Poirier have much bigger name value. And third, Makhachev is good. Really good. It seems no one wants to touch the Dagestani with a 10-foot pole, given that he and his power wrestling are a threat to anyone and everyone in the division.

Volkanovski could fill the void, especially if the winner were guaranteed a title shot. This is also an intriguing matchup, with Makhachev's grappling posing a major test to Volkanovski's robust takedown defense. If Makhachev gets on top of you on the mat, it's typically curtains.

Justin Gaethje

No big deal. Just one of the biggest popcorn fights the UFC could make in any division. Gaethje is the wild card on this list, but that's just the way he likes it.

But this is more than surefire violence. How will Volkanovski's power translate to lightweight? How about his wrestling? How about his chin? Gaethje's strength, takedown defense and durability all would pose massive challenges for Volkanovski.

Conor McGregor

In April, Volkanovski told TMZ Sports that he was indeed interested in facing McGregor once the Irishman returns.

"Oh, yeah. … It's always going to interest a lot of people,” Volkanovski said. "It's always going to be a big fight. There's always going to be money. There's going to be a circus. It's going to be entertaining. It's going to be fun. I'll enjoy that whole f--king thing."

Keep in mind that a date between Oliveira and McGregor is not a fait accompli, no matter how badly Oliveira wants it. There's an argument to be made that Volk is a bigger name than Oliveira, and McGregor's power striking would make for a counterweight to Volkanovski's pressure and volume. Volkanovski has also shown a greater aptitude than Oliveira for playing the hype game—a critical component to facing McGregor.

Ultimately, money talks, and a Volkanovski-McGregor matchup may talk the loudest, regardless of whether a title is even on the line.

Charles Oliveira's work was done in 202 seconds.

After he choked out Justin Gaethje—in front of the poor guy's hometown fans, no less—Oliveira swaggered up to Joe Rogan and the post-fight microphone and for one instant peered into the camera as if someone might be hiding inside it.

And through an interpreter, he made one simple, accurate observation:

"There's something missing here."

As shocked and irked as they were, the Phoenix faithful gathered for the main event of Saturday's UFC 274 knew exactly what he meant.

"The champion has a name," the interpreter continued, as if anyone needed the enlightenment. "And it's Charles Oliveira. … This is a message to the entire division."

After handing Gaethje (23-4) just the second submission loss of his career, Oliveira (33-8-1) further established himself as the best fighter in the UFC's best division and beyond. It was a drama-filled week for Oliveira and his fans, a week that saw him become the first fighter ever to lose a belt to the weigh-in scale. Winning, and winning in this fashion, put that drama and the division he still owns into new contexts.

In case you missed it, Oliveira was the lightweight champion until he missed weight Friday, clocking in at 155.5 pounds, or half a pound above the limit for title fights.

Oliveira took one hour and tried again, but again he weighed 155.5 pounds. As a result, he was essentially stripped of the title, with the belt formally considered vacant as of the start of the fight. He also forfeited part of his fight purse to Gaethje. Although Gaethje could become champ with a win, Oliveira would not be eligible to take back the title even in victory.

We can argue over the severity of those sanctions or the importance of half a pound until we're blue in the face, but at the end of the day, all the fighters know the rules (or should). A toe on the line is a toe on the line. The boundaries are there, literal and otherwise. That's sports.

With the MMA world in shock, the UFC threw Oliveira a lifeline, issuing a statement reading in part that "if Oliveira wins, he will be the No. 1 contender for the vacant lightweight championship and will fight the next challenger for the undisputed title belt at a time and place to be determined."

Oliveira didn't seem to need any more motivation once the door closed and the bout began. He certainly didn't appear to show any ill effects from the weight cut.

As one might expect, this was an action fight from the jump and all the way through its short shelf life. With the crowd behind him, Gaethje came out with his left hook loaded and ready. They both connected early—Oliveira with a stiff right hand and Gaethje with leg kicks. Gaethje found a home for the hook, and Oliveira briefly went down. Then it happened again, but Oliveira got up and responded with volume. It was quickly clear that the fight might hinge on sheer, unadulterated durability.

Shots were traded, chins were tested, but it was Oliveira pushing the pace. His output was higher; while both men hit on an identical 63 percent of their significant strikes, per UFC stats, Oliveira landed 30 to Gaethje's 21.

At about the 2:15 mark, an Oliveira right hand dumped Gaethje on the mat. That's not something you see every day. Oliveira pounced and went for the choke but couldn't quite wrap his arm under the neck. With Oliveira constricting, Gaethje somehow spun out, but in the ensuing moments he quickly and unwittingly gave up his back. Oliveira didn't miss a second time.

The choke was deep but still took a while, as Gaethje is as tough as they come. But with his consciousness waning, the tap came. The official result was a rear-naked choke submission at 3:22 of Round 1.

Want to know how good Oliveira is? Gaethje, a college wrestler with 73 percent takedown defense, had not a prayer on the ground. He was in deep water the moment Oliveira descended; you could see it written on his face.

The standup phase seemed like the right wheelhouse for Gaethje in this one. It wasn't, at least not enough, with Oliveira weathering his bombs and responding with stinging accuracy. For Charlie Olives, as the internet loves to call him, this was surely about redemption, but so too was it just another sunny day in the sandbox. A guy lucky enough to be a natural at what he loves to do.

But forget all that claptrap. Do you really want to know how good he is? He's now won 11 straight, dating back to January 2018 and Clay Guida. Have a gander at the UFC record books, where he leads all UFC fighters—not active fighters, all fighters—with 19 total finishes and 16 submission wins. No one else has displayed dominance over a UFC career span as long as Oliveira's, which dates back to 2010. (He's tied for ninth with 29 total UFC fights.)

So what's next? It's a good thing for all of us fans, if not Oliveira himself, that he's fighting in what is truly the cream of the crop right now in the UFC. There's something for everyone at 155 pounds.

There is, of course, the lure of the Irishman. Conor McGregor is purportedly eyeing a summer comeback, and a title shot would surely be tempting to him, just as a massive McGregor payday would be to Oliveira. That must be why McGregor was the only fighter Oliveira mentioned by name after the fight.

"I don't care, just put anybody in front of me," he told Rogan through the translator. "I'm not gonna choose. But hey, Conor McGregor, are you coming up, or are you gonna run away?"

It looks like McGregor has found another potential dance partner in Michael Chandler, who re-arranged Tony Ferguson's skull for him earlier in the night with a front kick from Hades. But even if McGregor-Oliveira doesn't happen, there are other choices—better ones, even. If I was Oliveira, I wouldn't have said Islam Makhachev's name either. The Dagestani Russian is the UFC's No. 3 ranked lightweight (and soon to be higher after Gaethje falls down the list) and tearing a hole through the heart of the division.

Oliveira has indicated previously that Makhachev doesn't deserve a shot. Others, i.e., just about everyone else, beg to differ given Makhachev's otherworldly dominance to date. Time will tell. After the fight, Makhachev renewed his push.

While we wait for that to iron itself out, there's one question we don't need to answer, even if said answer is not one you can see or touch. Belt or no belt, Charles Oliveira is indeed the champion, and for one of the best to ever do it in the UFC, there is absolutely nothing missing.

Islam Makhachev was as dominant as usual in a first-round TKO win over Bobby Green to close out UFC Fight Night 202 from the promotion's Apex facility in Las Vegas on Saturday.

Makhachev wasted no time in doing the best impression of his coach Khabib Nurmagomedov. After a few exchanges on the feet, he took Green down and went to work with his ground-and-pound.

Green didn't have much recourse once the fight got to the ground. The striker was fighting Makhachev just two weeks after scoring a win over Nasrat Haqparast at UFC 271.

The bout was supposed to take place between Makhachev and Beneil Dariush, which would have been an intriguing matchup between grapplers. However, Dariush was forced out of the bout with a leg injury.

So while Green should be commended for jumping in on short notice, this bout wasn't competitive.

It takes Makhachev's current win streak to 10. With Makharchev's No. 4 ranking, long winning streak and dominance, it won't be surprising if he skips a matchup with Dariush and goes right to a title shot.

Main Card

• Islam Makhachev def. Bobby Green via TKO at 3:23 of Round 1
• Wellington Turman def. Misha Cirkunov via submission (armbar) at 1:29 of Round 2
• Priscila Cachoeira def. Ji Yeon Kim via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Arman Tsarukyan def. Joel Alvarez via TKO at 1:57 of Round 2
• Armen Petrosyan def. Gregory Rodrigues via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27)

Prelims

• Ignacio Bahamondes def. Rong Zhu via submission (guillotine choke) at 1:40 of Round 3
• Josiane Nunes def. Ramona Pascual via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
• Terrance McKinney def. Fares Ziam via submission (rear-naked choke) at 2:11 of Round 1
• Jonathan Martinez def. Alejandro Perez via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
• Ramiz Brahimaj def. Micheal Gillmore via submission (rear-naked choke) at 2:02 of Round 1
• Carlos Hernandez def. Victor Altamirano via split decision (28-29, 30-27, 29-28)

Wellington Turman def. Misha Cirkunov

Wellington Turman showed his submission skills are always dangerous against Misha Cirkunov. He locked up one of the quickest armbars you will ever see against Cirkunov to pull off a stunning victory in the second round.

Turman actually nearly won the fight in the first round. He had a rear-naked choke attempt that took Cirkunov a long time to finally defend.

However, it put the Brazilian in a bad spot, as he was exhausted, and Cirkunov ended the first round on a strong note.

It appeared Cirkunov was ready to take over the fight and potentially finish it when he had Turman on the ground. However, the 25-year-old threw up his legs and locked in a Hail Mary armbar that immediately forced the tap and gave Turman the win.

It's a good thing he got it too. It's his first time winning back-to-back fights in six UFC fights.

Priscila Cachoeira def. Ji Yeon Kim

The flyweight contest between Priscila Cachoeira and Ji Yeon Kim appeared to be a stand-up battle on paper. Neither fighter was known to go to the ground.

Fortunately for fans, it played out exactly as expected. Both fighters put on a show in an absolute slugfest that came down to the final round.

The scorecards could be debated, to say the least. Kim had the advantage in significant strikes, landing 160 to Cachoeira's 77.

However, the Brazilian stole the third and final round with a series of elbows. She took some heavy shots to land them, but the judges were obviously impressed with the damage she was able to land to close out the fight.

The win probably saved Zombie Girl's job. She was 2-4 in her last six fights going into the night.

Arman Tsarukyan def. Joel Alvarez

Arman Tsarukyan made a violent statement in his second-round TKO win over Joel Alvarez. It was a fight that will be remembered for a dominant performance from Tsarukyan but also the outpouring of blood from a cut on Alvarez's nose.

Tsarukyan proved he wasn't afraid of grappling with Alvarez early on. He locked on a takedown and established top position. The real problems for Alvarez came from the ground-and-pound, though.

Tsarukyan opened up a gash on his opponent's nose that required the doctor to take a look at it between rounds. Alvarez was deemed fit to continue fighting in Round 2.

That might have been the case, but it didn't take long for Tsarukyan to get the upper hand again. He finished Alvarez with ground strikes a little over a minute into the round.

The 25-year-old now has five wins in a row. His only loss in the UFC is to Islam Makhachev.

Armen Petrosyan def. Gregory Rodrigues

The judges' scorecards could have named either fighter the winner in Armen Petrosyan vs. Gregory Rodrigues, but the real winner was those who watched the fight.

The main card kickoff was a back-and-forth roller coaster with a little bit of everything. The two traded momentum-shifting strikes throughout the three-round affair.

Ultimately, Petrosyan did enough to get the nod from two of the three judges. He has some flexibility to thank for making it out of the third round. Rodrigues nearly pulled off the rare Suloev Stretch.

The last-round submission attempt wasn't enough for Rodrigues, though, and Petrosyan will reap the rewards. He earned his UFC contract on the heels of a first-round knockout on Dana White's Contender Series.

However, he proved he belongs with this win in his UFC debut.

When Khabib Nurmagomedov announced his retirement from mixed martial arts in November 2020, in what seemed to be the prime of his fighting life, it felt like the end of something. He had been so dominant for so long, almost single-handedly putting Russia's rugged Republic of Dagestan on the MMA map along the way, and suddenly, only moments after he strangled Justin Gaethje unconscious to improve to a staggering 29-0 overall, it was all over. 

Just one year later, Nurmagomedov's retirement looks less like the end of something and more like the flashpoint for an era of dominance for fighters from Dagestan, its surrounding republics and oblasts, and larger Russia.

The signs couldn't be any clearer after UFC 267, which went down last Saturday in the heat of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. 

In the fourth of six main card fights, Dagestan's Islam Makhachev picked up a first-round submission victory over New Zealand's Dan Hooker, who has proved himself to be one of the grittiest fighters in the lightweight division. The win pushed Makhachev, who happens to be a close friend and training partner of Nurmagomedov, to an incredible 21-1 overall. It also cemented his status as one of the top contenders for for a shot at the lightweight title Nurmagomedov once wore. 

The 30-year-old wasted no time in calling for that opportunity post-fight. 

"Next fight, it has to be for the title, or a contender fight, because I have a nine-fight winning streak," Makhachev said at the UFC 267 post-fight press conference. "Who in my division have this? Just the champion [Charles Oliveira]. 

"And I feel my division is a little bit asleep right now," he added, putting his rivals on notice in a way Nurmagomedov once might have. "I have to wake up my division, because we have to change some things. The old guys from the top five, they've already fought for the title: [Michael] Chandler, [Justin] Gaethje. That's why we have to change something."

It remains to be seen if Makhachev gets his desired title shot, but he's very close to getting his hands on his division's ultimate prize.

The same can be said of Khamzat Chimaev, a native of Russia's Chechen Republic, which borders Dagestan. The 27-year-old extended his record to 10-0 with a first-round submission win—the product of a rear-naked choke—over China's Li Jingliang on the UFC 267 main card. 

Chimaev, though relatively inexperienced, has long drawn comparisons to Nurmagomedov and, despite their brief and supposedly overblown feud, has made it clear that he has immense respect for the retired legend.

After Chimaev's win over Jingliang, many believe he's primed for a Nurmagomedov-esque reign as a UFC champion, but he already considers himself the welterweight division's uncrowned king.

"I am coming for everybody," Chimaev said in his post-fight interview. "I kill everybody. I am the champ."

Makhachev and Chimaev's UFC 267 wins prove that Nurmagomedov's retirement was not the end of Russia's time in the MMA limelight, but rather the beginning of it—and that's without even mentioning new interim bantamweight champion Petr Yan, heavyweight contender Alexander Volkov, or light heavyweight contender Magomed Ankalaev, who also won in Abu Dhabi.

While none of them are closely affiliated with or regularly compared to Nurmagomedov, all three carry the Russian flag when they make their walks to the Octagon. Then there's Tagir Ulanbekov and Zubaira Tukhugov, a pair of rising Nurmagomedov students, both of whom won on Saturday's undercard.

All of the above seem to recognize their role in continuing Nurmagomedov's incredible legacy—none more clearly, perhaps, than Makhachev, who now calls the unbeaten legend a head coach. 

Makhachev doesn't just relish comparisons to Nurmagomedov, but he also strives to cultivate them as he continues his march toward the lightweight title. 

"I want to be next Khabib," he told BT Sport ahead of his victory over Hooker. "I want to be like Khabib. Honestly, I want to smash all my opponents like Khabib, too.

"If somebody say, 'You fight like Khabib' or 'You gonna be like Khabib,' I want to be."