Charles Oliveira believes that weight cutting played a major role in Islam Makhachev’s decision to move up to 170 pounds.
Makhachev (27-1 MMA, 16-1 UFC) recently vacated the UFC lightweight title, which he had held since submitting Oliveira (35-10 MMA, 23-10 UFC) at UFC 280 back in 2022. “Do Bronx” had been in contention to challenge Makhachev for the lightweight belt next, along with Justin Gaethje and former featherweight champion Ilia Topuria.
With Makhachev now likely to face newly crowned welterweight champion Jack Della Maddalena (18-1 MMA, 8-1 UFC), Oliveira has been booked to fight Topuria (16-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) in the main event at UFC 317 next month. The two will battle for the vacant lightweight title.
In an interview with MMA Today this week, Oliveira said he believes Makhachev made the move due to difficulties cutting to the 155-pound limit.
“Look, I don't see it that way, I see the weight cut as the reason,” Oliveira responded when asked whether he thought Makhachev might view Della Maddalena as an easier opponent than either him or Topuria. “I saw this a couple of times already. I've been at the same event as him and seen his weight cut. It's brutal, you know? At weigh-ins on Friday, I saw how drained he was. Many people said he was struggling to make weight.
“I think it's because he wants to be in better fight shape, you know? And to cut weight better, he decided to move up. I think he'll be a handful in this division. He will be much stronger. He's improving a lot on his feet, and his ground game is incredibly strong, so that will be a great fight. He's facing a tough guy who hits the body hard and moves well, as we saw in his fight against Bilal, right? But that's how it is. To be a champ, you have to fight the best. That's how it is.”
