Makhachev: “I thought that Poirier would win, but Oliveira surprised me. I think I’ll have a good fight with him.”

Russian UFC lightweight Islam Makhachev commented on the title fight between Charles Oliveira and Dustin Poirier.

“Honestly, I thought that Poirier would win, that he could drag the fight into the later rounds, that Oliveira would not be able to translate easily. I was wrong, and now I began to appreciate Oliveira’s skills in the stand, ground floor, and wrestling more. In wrestling, he surprised by the way he translated Poirier. Gaethje hits hard, but I think Poirier hits hard too. I think Oliveira can get past Gaethje’s flurry of punches and then take him down and finish. Justin doesn’t have a very good partner, I think that Oliveira will be able to finish him too, ”Makhachev said at a press conference that took place on December 13 in Moscow.

Makhachev also shared his expectations for a possible fight with Oliveira in the event of a victory over Beneil Dariush.

“I think I will have a good fight with him, but let’s not look ahead like that. Now I have a good opponent who is no weaker than Oliveira. This is Beneil Dariush.”

Oliveira defeated Poirier over the weekend via submission in the third round.

Makhachev will fight Dariush in the main event of the UFC Fight Night tournament, which will take place on the night of February 27 in Las Vegas.