Charles Oliveira suffered a split decision loss to Arman Tsarukyan on the main card of UFC 300 in his last trip to the octagon. Speaking at his UFC 302 media day, Islam Makhachev extended an offer for ‘Do Bronx’ to join him in training in Dagestan. He noted that the No. 2-ranked lightweight has very good striking and grappling and that his camp can help him improve his wrestling.
Oliveira responded to the offer on Monday, with Championship Rounds sharing his comments, tweeting:
“Charles Oliveira responds to Islam Makhachev’s offer to train with him in Dagestan [Russian flag] “I’m grateful for Islam’s kindness in inviting me to train [with him in Dagestan], but I am only part of Chute Boxe. I have no intention of training anywhere else. I’m happy with everything he said. He had a great fight at UFC 302 and demonstrated that he is the champion.” (via. @bandsports , H/T @LaSueur_off ) #UFC #MMA”
Check out Charles Oliveira’s response to Islam Makhachev below:
Oliveira’s loyalty to Chute Boxe Academy should be no surprise to fans. He was just 10-8 (1) in the UFC before joining the gym in 2018. An 11-fight win streak – which included him capturing the lightweight title – immediately followed, with many citing his decision to switch gyms as a career-defining move.
Charles Oliveira does not believe Arman Tsarukyan can defeat Islam Makhachev
Charles Oliveira has shared the octagon with both Islam Makhachev and Arman Tsarukyan, losing to the former via second-round submission at UFC 280 and the latter via split decision at UFC 300. The No. 1-ranked lightweight appears to be next in line to challenge for the lightweight title after the champion successfully defended his belt against Dustin Poirier at UFC 302.
Speaking to Guilherme Cruz of MMA Fighting, ‘Do Bronx’ revealed that he does not believe ‘Ahalkalakets’ can dethrone Makhachev, stating:
“Arman is a guy that takes you down and holds you there the entire time. No way. It’s not a fight he can win. Of course, I’ve just said this and I can’t backtrack, we’re talking about MMA and it’s very unpredictable.”
Oliveira continued:
“A guy closes his eyes and throws a hand that lands, you’re knocked out. He throws a kick that lands, you shoot for a takedown and end up in a submission. MMA is unpredictable, but I think Islam is way more experienced, has more focus, more hunger, and is much stronger than Arman.” [h/t MMA Fighting]
Tsarukyan suffered a unanimous decision loss to Makhachev in his promotional debut at UFC Fight Night 149 back in 2019. Despite taking the bout on short notice and being just 22 years old, he gave the current lightweight champion what many believed to be his toughest test.
