Islam Makhachev believes his wrestling skills outmatch the lightweight champion’s, which makes it a good, yet easy fight for him.
The #4 lightweight contender faces off against Bobby Green in a catchweight bout this Saturday, February 26. Green is Beniel Dariush’s replacement, as Dariush suffered an injury a week before the match.
Makhachev and Green head into their battle with back-to-back impressive wins. Fans anticipate what both fighters will bring to the cage at UFC Fight Night 202.
Some tension has built up leading to their match. For instance, Green says he will be the first fighter to give Makhachev a “real” fight. And Makhachev laughed at Bobby Green’s wrestling skills.
But that comes as no surprise. Being the wrestling sensation that Makhachev is, he puts his wrestling skills well above many fighters.
In his last nine straight wins, he racked up four different submissions. Last year alone, he won all of his fights by submission, which includes a kimura to take out Dan Hooker in the first round.
Though Makhachev credits “Do Bronx” for his striking and grappling, his success leads him to believe he can put Charles Oliveira down with ease in an eventual matchup.
“It’s gonna be good fight because we almost have same style,” Makhachev said during a UFC Vegas 49 media scrum. He have good grappling skills, he have good striking, and it’s gonna be good fight. And I don’t think it’s gonna be hard for me. I can take him out, take him down easy because I know he don’t have good wrestling skills. But his grappling skills—high level. And we will see who’s better there,” said Makhachev in a pre-fight interview.
Currently, Oliveira has the most submission wins and finishes in UFC history and has 20 submissions in his entire MMA career. As of now, Makhachev has 10.
By the time these two amazing grapplers reach each other those numbers can certainly change.
Oliveira has an upcoming title defense against Justin Gaethje in May. And before that, Makhachev fights for his chance to increase his win streak to ten straight wins.
Both fights will determine if Makhachev and Oliveira will test their skills against one another in the near future.
How do you think Islam Makhachev matches up against Charles Oliveira?
Continue Reading Islam Makhachev Explains Why Charles Oliveira Would Be An Easy Fight at MMA News.