Usman Nurmagomedov thinks Charles Oliveira will suffer the same fate in his title-fight rematch vs. Islam Makhachev.
Lightweight champion Makhachev (24-1 MMA, 13-1 UFC) will run things back with Oliveira (34-9 MMA, 22-9 UFC) in the UFC 294 main event Oct. 21 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.
Makhachev ran through Oliveira en route to a second-round submission at UFC 280 last October. Oliveira has since rebounded with a first-round TKO of Beneil Dariush at UFC 289, but Makhachev’s training partner Nurmagomedov doesn’t think “Do Bronx” will be able to make the necessary adjustments to avenge his loss.
“I think it’s going to be the same thing,” Nurmagomedov told ESPN. “Of course, Charles Oliveira – maybe he’s going to fix some mistakes. This is a fight. Something can happen. But I know Islam is training very hard. He’s very smart. He can wrestle, strike and grapple, too. I don’t think Charles Oliveira can give him some hard situation.”
Nurmagomedov (17-0 MMA, 6-0 BMMA) will look to make his own lightweight title defense when he meets former champ Brent Primus (12-3 MMA, 10-3 BMMA) at Bellator 300 Oct. 7 at Pechanga Arena in San Diego.
“In the striking, I think I’m better than him,” Nurmagomedov said of Primus. “Wrestling, I’m better than him. Grappling, I think I’m not bad. I’m good. My grappling is, of course, not like Khabib or Islam high-level, but not bad. Even if you see my last fight with Benson Henderson, I take his back and I finish him. It will be a hard five rounds, and I will try to finish this guy every round.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 294.
Usman Nurmagomedov doesn’t see Charles Oliveira giving Islam Makhachev ‘a hard situation’ at UFC 294