“I think Islam will fight Oliveira,” said the American, answering questions from fans on the social network. “Oliveira said he can’t fight in October, but I think it’s just a negotiating tactic to get more money for the fight. He probably doesn’t want to fight in Abu Dhabi again, but Islam is the champion and if Oliveira really wants to take revenge on him, he will have to go to Abu Dhabi.”
According to Muhammad, Oliveira, who dealt with Benil Dariush in a challenger fight, has little chance of defeating the reigning UFC lightweight champion.
“Yes, I am sure that Islam is a terrible opponent for Oliveira. He’s better at standing, better at jiu-jitsu, better at grappling, and better at wrestling. Benil translated Oliveira quite easily, he played in the guard, but Benil does not have the level of pressure that Islam has. We saw what Islam did in the first fight – he easily forced him to surrender.
“Besides, Islam’s defense is an order of magnitude higher than that of the rest of the fighters in the lightweight division – he will not be dragged into a fight, he will not go into a crazy exchange of blows. Oliveira caught a lot of counters in these exchanges, but Islam is too good to be caught. Stylistically, this is a very bad fight for Oliveira.”
Recall that in October last year, Islam Makhachev won the vacant UFC lightweight championship belt, finishing Charles Oliveira by arm triangle choke in the second round. After that, the Russian successfully defended the title, winning by unanimous decision against Alexander Volkanovski, and the Brazilian returned his career to a successful track by knocking out Benil Dariush in the first round.