The only reason why Islam Makhachev was able to win the vacant UFC lightweight championship belt is because he was the undisputed best fighter that night, according to the Russian’s former opponent, Charles Oliveira.
“In the fight against Makhachev, I didn’t feel any pressure – he was just better than me,” the Brazilian said in an interview with Super Lutas. “I haven’t even rewatched the fight yet – it doesn’t matter to me. I can’t say it was a bad evening. Just a bad 10 minutes. I have nothing more to say. You know I always tell the truth. I already thought about it, but I have no other real explanations.
As for a potential rematch, Oliveira sees no point in changing the training process or the plan for the fight.
“I wouldn’t change anything in a rematch – I know how much and how hard I train. I can’t say anything other than what I’ve already said – Islam was better than me. I wouldn’t change my training or the weight cut, and I wouldn’t change anything at all. I don’t know exactly what happened, but that evening Islam was definitely better than me.”
The lightweight title fight between Makhachev and Oliveira, which headlined the UFC 280 tournament in Abu Dhabi on October 22, ended with the defeat of the Brazilian by arm triangle choke in the second round. At the moment, the Russian is preparing to defend the championship belt against the Australian Alexander Volkanovski, whom he will meet on February 12 at UFC 284 in Perth.
Source: https://fighttime.ru/news/item/30368-charlz-olivejra-nazval-prichinu-porazheniya-v-boyu-s-islamom-makhachevym.html?rand=19907
