Sometimes words always come back to bite you, and could this be the case for Khabib Nurmagomedov as he sends his prodigy Islam Makhachev into battle at UFC 280?
A video resurfaced of the former pound-for-pound king criticising Charles Oliveira’s ground game. The pair never shared the Octagon with one another, but Khabib sends his “brother” into his first lightweight world title fight this Saturday against the Brazilian in Abu Dhabi.
As expected, Khabib has been the driving force in the media, praising Makhachev at any given opportunity. With that, fans believe the former lightweight champion is the only reason he’s being granted a chance at lightweight gold.
It’s no secret that Makhachev has a unique skill set, and his grappling credentials are through the roof, but Khabib strongly believes that Oliveira will be no match for his now student.
In the resurfacing of an old video from months ago, Khabib explained why he feels this way to Kamaru Usman and Henry Cejudo.
Khabib Nurmagomedov Diminishes Charles Oliveira Ground Game
“This is what Islam gonna do with Charles Olivera: he gonna ride him like you ride your horse,” Nurmagomedov said. “A lot of people underestimate Islam. They think Charles Oliveira have ground game. He don’t have ground game. If you tap eight times in UFC, how can you say you have ground game? You tap eight times!”
Quotes via MMA Mania
Oliveira has actually only been submitted three times in the UFC, dating back to 2016, and has gone on to submit eight opponents from then.
What do you make of Khabib Nurmagomedov’s comments regarding Islam Makhachev and Charles Oliveira?
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images and Embed from Getty Images
