Khabib Nurmagomedov struggles to make any sense of Charles Oliveira’s recent comments.
At UFC 280 on Oct. 22, the battle for lightweight supremacy will finally be decided when the former champion Oliveira takes on his fellow streaking rival, Islam Makhachev, for the vacant crown. Along the way, both sides of the bout have had plenty to say … mostly in respectful fashions even when critical.
However, recently discussing the matchup, “Do Bronx” noted how he feels Makhachev and his team, including fellow former lightweight kingpin Nurmagomedov, are getting a bit arrogant which will lead to their downfall. When catching wind of Oliveira’s comments ahead of Eagle FC 49, which took place yesterday in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, Nurmagomedov was perplexed, to say the least.
“Well, listen, first of all, how can you disparage the man who won the Fighter of the Year award in 2022? No one is disparaging him,” Nurmagomedov told Sambo Says.
“11 fights in a row he has won with so many finishes. I think it’s silly to think we’re underestimating this fight. This is a very hard fight. We always referred to him as a champion. If we say that we want to finish the fight early, I don’t see any arrogance in that at all. We have a plan. We want to finish the fight early. I think that Charles also has a plan and that he also wants to finish Islam. I think he also wants to hit his opponent in the face, use his kicks, knees, punches, elbow. Right? He wants to choke his opponent out, break their bones, etc. That’s the reason we step into the octagon, right?”
A lot of the chatter from both sides regarding how the fight will play out has centered around the potential ground battle and rightfully so. Both fighters are two of the most talented grappling specialists in all of MMA in their own unique ways, leading them to be fully confident in that area should the action go there. Oliveira happens to be so confident that he’s even invited Makhachev to start the fight on the ground with him.
For Nurmagomedov, he finds it all to be a bit telling of where Oliveira’s current mentality is at as the big fight approaches.
“So what is not arrogant from his side?” Nurmagomedov asked. “That he wants to beat Islam Makhachev? Am I right? What we’re talking about is true, right? So tell me who offended him. Not Ali [Abdelaziz], not myself, no one insulted him. Definitely not Islam, he has never insulted anyone. I don’t see any kind of arrogance here. I simply think he’s starting to feel the pressure of the fight.
“You know when you train to fight someone … for example, someone like [Justin] Gaethje, or [Michael] Chandler, or [Dustin] Poirier, you know that they have already lost in the past. You can see their pluses and minuses. And you can identify the “switch” in their fights that lead them to victory or defeat. So what I believe, and this is solely my point of view, he may consider this arrogance as well but it doesn’t matter … It appears to me that he looks at Islam and can’t find that “switch.” So because of that, he gets nervous. He starts to talk about this so-called arrogance and so on but who does this really concern?”
Unsurprisingly, the original Dagestani destroyer is expecting his protege to pull off the victory and secure his first world title on that fateful night in Abu Dhabi. At the same time though, Nurmagomedov expects it to be relatively competitive and gives Oliveira a 30 percent chance … a number that’s right in line with the oddsmakers placing the Brazilian as a +145 underdog to Makhachev’s -175 favorite, per Bovada.
“On the 22nd of October, we will step into the cage and we plan on finishing him whether he likes it or not,” Nurmagomedov said.
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LISTEN UP
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Heck of a Morning. MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck discussed Bo Nickal’s ceiling and if Dominick Cruz is being completely overlooked ahead of UFC San Diego.
SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE
Oof.
#Bellator284 Official Weigh-In Result: #4-Ranked Flyweight @Ilimanator (129) * pic.twitter.com/qmuidtO218
— Bellator Public Relations (@BellatorPR) August 11, 2022
Pac-ikabara reunites!
マニラに行って3年振りにパッキャオに会って来ました！
お互いの将来について、とても前向きな話し合いが出来ましたよ！楽しみにしていて下さい。
自宅で食事をご馳走になったのですが、それにしても凄い家でしたよ。 pic.twitter.com/PpftOGfjy3— NOBUYUKI SAKAKIBARA (@nobu_sakakibara) August 11, 2022
Greatness!
Jiri @jiri_bjp this is not about promises made. This is a chance for the biggest European fight in the history of this sport. THIS IS IT! We’re both men of action. We both have something to prove to the world. Now the opportunity arises and we can create greatness.
— Jan Blachowicz (@JanBlachowicz) August 11, 2022
Angry Usman.
Dear @usantidoping there’s a reason u make us fill out our whereabouts. So U know where we are at all times. Disrupting our sleep at 5am is just plain stupid. Next time I’ll make you guys follow me around all day
— KAMARU USMAN (@USMAN84kg) August 11, 2022
Almost time…!
Final touches on fight camp. #teamcruz #movelikecruz #sandiego #ufc #ufcfightnight pic.twitter.com/qj97W9Lew5
— Dominick Cruz (@DominickCruz) August 11, 2022
MMA royalty returns
[ @DominickCruz | #UFCSanDiego | Saturday | 4 | 7 | LIVE on @ESPN ] pic.twitter.com/kEib56enfr
— UFC (@ufc) August 11, 2022
Chin catching.
⌛️……….C4 loading………. x https://t.co/xpYPX9ZqMH pic.twitter.com/I1PLSXdvwU
— Henry Cejudo (@HenryCejudo) August 11, 2022
Pain.
Matunga Djikasa gets the TKO against Tommy Strydom with a nasty side kick to the knee. Well that looked terrible. #EFC96 pic.twitter.com/P4GP9WFJl2
— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) August 11, 2022
Shot shooter.
Fuck it @JanBlachowicz what’s up bro Santos KO’d, I KO’d him Ik you want some of that back?!!!#letsfight
— Jamahal Hill (@JamahalH) August 11, 2022
Well, I guess it’s a “no” to that idea.
Katie Taylor on Jake Paul saying she should move down to featherweight for the Amanda Serrano rematch: “What is that about? I’ve never heard such nonsense in all my life. I’ve never heard someone say something as stupid as that to be quite honest.” [@MatchroomBoxing]
— Michael Benson (@MichaelBensonn) August 11, 2022
Ballin’.
Mackenzie Dern threw out the first pitch last night in San Diego. pic.twitter.com/uWENzSUmOX
— Spinnin Backfist (@SpinninBackfist) August 10, 2022
Holy precision, Batman.
Amazing. Seiya Tanigawa drops K-Jee with a back leg low kick. Pulled his toes back and kicked it with the ball of his foot. Impressive. – Aron pic.twitter.com/ZhPVwdzfto
— Karate Pathfinder (@xKaratepath) August 11, 2022
Don’t even get into it, Bo. Trust me.
To those crying about my comment regarding the betting line on my fight listen up. If you got me at -3000 and put $100k on me you would have made $3.3k. That’s a 3.3% return in 60 sec. If you don’t understand this stick to your +25000 parlays and lose your money.
— Bo Nickal (@NoBickal) August 12, 2022
Movement is life.
— Matt “The Steamrolla”Frevola (@SteamRollaa) August 12, 2022
Sara gots jokes!
First media day in the books.
Pure Mexican power.
FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS
Rory MacDonald (23-9-1) vs. Dilano Taylor (9-2); 2022 PFL 8, Aug. 13
Matheus Scheffel (16-8) vs. Juan Adams (10-4); 2022 PFL 8, Aug. 13
Darian Weeks (5-2) vs. Yohan Lainesse (8-1); UFC 279, Sept. 10
Raoni Barcelos (16-3) vs. Trevin Jones (13-8, 1 NC); UFC FIght Night, Oct. 1
Ramona Pascual (6-4) vs. Tamires Vidal (6-1); UFC Fight Night, Nov. 5
Molly McCann (13-4) vs. Erin Blanchfield (9-1); UFC 281; Nov. 12
Aung La N Sang (27-13) vs. Yushin Okami (37-14); ONE on Prime Video 4, Nov. 19
Jiri Prochazka (29-3-1) vs. Glover Teixeira (33-8); UFC 282, Dec. 10
FINAL THOUGHTS
If you aren’t hyped for Yazmin Jauregui’s UFC debut, you’ll soon realize why you should have been.
Happy Friday, gang! Thanks for reading and have a good safe weekend!
EXIT POLL
TUNE FOR THE WEEKEND
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