Lightweight champion Islam Makhachev has been warned to underestimate Charles Oliveira at his own peril as the pair get set for their rematch in the headline fight at UFC 294 in Abu Dhabi.
On October 21, live and exclusive on TNT Sports, Makhachev will go toe-to-toe with the man he submitted at UFC 280 to take the title almost exactly a year earlier.
However, stressing that no two fights are ever the same, TNT Sports expert Michael Bisping insists Makhachev cannot take his opponent lightly as he puts his belt back on the line.
“Makhachev took care of him the first time out, but every fight is different,” began Bisping.
“If you think that fight is going to go down the exact same way, you are out of your mind.
“For example, I fought Luke Rockhold the first time, I got finished by a guillotine; the second time I knocked him out in the first round – no two fights are ever the same.”
Bisping warned that if Makhachev underestimates Olivieria even “for one little second” he could be in for a difficult night.
“If he thinks that, he’s going to lose the belt – simple as that,” said Bisping.
Noting that Makhachev “struggled” in his victory over Alexander Volkanovski – which came via unanimous decision – Bisping’s TNT Sports colleague Nick Peet claims Oliveira comes into the fight in peak condition after a convincing knock-out win over Beneil Dariush.
“When you look at the last performances as well, Charles is coming in after destroying Beneil Dariush. He looked absolutely incredible, back to his best,” said Peet.
“But Islam’s just struggled against the guy from the weight division below. Granted, the guy in the weight division low is a bit of an enigma, probably the best pound-for-pound fighter on the planet, but still, he struggled.
“And in that, is there a game plan there that Charles can incorporate?
“When you’ve got the most submissions in the game, going to the ground is not a problem.
“But maybe it is a problem with Islam. Maybe this time he thinks, ‘right, I’m going to keep it on the feet this time, I’m going keep my range’ and he’ll approach it completely differently.
“Whereas Islam Makhachev, they’ll go back into camp and go, ‘we’ve done it once, we’ll just do it again’, and that makes Charles Olivera so much more dangerous.”
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