Outside Source
Having fought both, Oliveira believes Makhachev is slightly one-dimensional with his wrestling. Meanwhile, Oliveira has a lot of respect for Topuria’s power, which he felt firsthand. “Do Bronxs” claims the knockout blow in his loss to Topuria at UFC 317 is the hardest punch he has ever felt. Oliveira also believes that Makhachev will finish Topuria if they go to the ground. However, the Brazilian believes it will be risky for Makhachev to close the distance considering Topuria’s knockout power.
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Too Close to Call
“Makhachev has only one game,” Oliveira said in a recent interview. “He is going to clinch you and take you down. And Topuria is a fighter with a lot of power. Not because he knocked me out. That was the hardest punch I ever felt. I’ve never seen his ground or clinch work. If they stay on the feet, I think [Ilia] knocks him out. If Islam gets hold of [Topuria], he will finish him. I think it’s very very close. But for Islam to get a hold of him, he has to close the distance first, which is dangerous fighting Ilia.”
Oliveira (36-11) lost his lightweight title to Makhachev (28-1) via submission at UFC 280 in 2022. Topuria (17-0) started rallying for a lightweight title shot against Makhachev after defending the featherweight title just once. However, Makhachev vacated the title and moved up to welterweight, where he dethroned Jack Della Maddalena to become champion. Meanwhile, Topuria moved up to lightweight and knocked out Oliveira to win the vacant title. “El Matador” is still eyeing a matchup against Makhachev, even at welterweight.
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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