Khabib Olivera Comparison : Khabib Nurmagomedov, the former UFC Lightweight Champion, believes Charles Oliveira has no business being compared to him.
Khabib Olivera Comparison : It would have been difficult to believe in 2017 that Oliveira, who had a lackluster 10-8-1 UFC record at the time, would be included in divisional GOAT debates just five years later. However, “Do Bronx” finds himself in this position after 11 straight victories.
Oliveira’s technique and talent are unquestionable, despite the fact that he lost the belt at UFC 274 due to a weight miss. However, not everyone is blown away.
Khabib remarked in an interview with ESPN MMA’s Brett Okamoto that Oliveira has been routinely knocked down by strikes in recent fights.
“He impressed me, little bit. But, every fight he go down,” said Khabib. “This is a little bit bad for him. Every fight he go down, couple times. Last fight, it was how many times? Two, three times knocked down? (Against) Michael Chandler, Dustin Poirier, with Justin Gaethje; he always go down. This is like, little bit (of a) question.”
Following his submission victory over Gaethje in 2020, Khabib, generally regarded as one of the leading candidates in the ultimate GOAT argument, hung up his gloves. Before that, “The Eagle” successfully defended his lightweight title against Poirier and Conor McGregor, a former two-division champion.
Khabib, having retired with a spotless 29-0 record, doesn’t get the rationale of comparisons to Oliveira, who has been defeated in eight bouts inside the Octagon.
“Nobody ever touched my face, and all the time he go down. People can not compare me versus Charles Oliveira,” asserted Khabib. “He tap in UFC eight times, please, come on. When he (lost to) Jim Miller, Anthony Pettis, Holloway, Felder, it was Charles Oliveira; it was not Khabib. If you wanna deserve a name like the greatest lightweight, he have to beat Islam (Makhachev), Beneil (Dariush), couple more guys. Then we can talk,” remarked Khabib. “He has to be professional, make weight when he has championship belt.”
Khabib did agree, however, that Oliveira’s ability to turn around his career has been remarkable. Still, he thinks that Olivera still has a lot of work to do before the two can be compared, including defeating his protégé, Islam Makhachev.
“What he’s doing is very impressive. This is very impressive, how he come back from so many losses, and now he has good ground (game), he has good striking game, knees, elbows, kicks. He looks good,” acknowledged Khabib. “That’s why I want to see him versus Islam. This is big test for both of them.”
No Comments