Firas Zahabi doesn’t expect a rematch between Islam Makhachev and Charles Oliveira to go any differently than the first fight.
Makhachev (24-1 MMA, 13-1 UFC) scored a dominant submission of Oliveira (34-9 MMA, 22-9 UFC) to claim the vacant lightweight title at UFC 280, snapping Oliveira’s 11-fight winning streak.
This past Saturday in the UFC 289 co-main event, Oliveira rebounded with a first-round TKO of the streaking Beneil Dariush, which put him as a frontrunner for a title shot. But Zahabi said he didn’t see anything too different from Oliveira, who will have to change his approach in a potential rematch against Makhachev.
“It wouldn’t work against Makhachev. Makhachev would put the pain on him,” Zahabi said on his YouTube channel. “Makhachev would possibly even sub him. He should have been in there showing us he can beat a Makhachev.
“It’s not gonna be that exciting of a pre-fight analysis or a buildup to the fight. It might not be, because he kind of looked like he’s doing the same formula. I don’t think it works against Makhachev.”
The Tristar Gym head coach admits he was surprised with Dariush’s (22-5-1 MMA, 16-5-1 UFC) performance against Oliveira, and expected a lot more from him.
“He underperformed, he’s way better than that,” Zahabi said. “I’m a big fan of Dariush, and I remain a big fan. I just feel something was off that night. I don’t know what it was. I didn’t talk to him. I saw him at the fights, we said hello.
“I feel he underperformed. He could do so much better, especially when a guy pulls guard within the first few seconds of the fight. He just grabs onto you and pulls guard. Something was off in my opinion. I don’t know what it was, but he had a golden opportunity, and he just couldn’t seize it.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 289.