Charles Oliveira and Islam Makhachev will finally throw down this October, as part of UFC 280.
The long-awaited title fight will feature two non-champs, given Oliveira was stripped of his title prior to UFC 274 earlier this year after missing weight. That said, many still view “Do Bronx” as the uncrowned king at 155 pounds, and a fight with Makhachev has long been anticipated.
UFC officials announced the news during Saturday’s UFC Long Island broadcast on ABC. UFC 280 takes place on “Fight Island” in Abu Dhabi on October 22, 2022.
Oliveira (33-8, 1NC) has had a Hall of Fame worthy resurgence in recent years that has taken him all the way to the UFC’s lightweight title and beyond. The Brazilian, who holds the promotional record for submissions, has won eleven straight fights, most recently stopped Justin Gaethje with a rear-naked choke.
The win was marred by the aforementioned miss at the scales, but controversy erupted when it was determined that a scale backstage in Phoenix may have been inadvertently tampered with by fighters switching from pounds to kilograms. In the aftermath of the incident, the UFC announced it would assign a guard to watch over the scale.
Despite no longer holding gold, Oliveira remains the man to beat at 155 pounds. And Makhachev will finally get the chance to prove that he is indeed the heir apparent to teammate and coach Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Makhachev (22-1) has won ten straight fights, and is unbeaten since a 2015 loss to Adriano Martins. Along the way to his title opportunity, the Dagestani has defeated names like Chris Wade, Drew Dober, Dan Hooker and most recently Bobby Green.
No other fights have been reported for the UFC 280 card on October 22, but Oliveira vs. Makhavchev appears to be a lock to headline the event. The event was recently renumbered, as the UFC had previously advertised the date as UFC 281.
