The sign will soon read: “No Vacancy.”
Charles
Oliveira and
Islam
Makhachev will match wits and skills to determine the fate of
the
Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight title when they meet
in the
UFC 280 headliner on Saturday at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi,
United Arab Emirates. Their encounter serves as one of the most
anticipated bouts of 2022. Oliveira enters the Octagon on a
remarkable 11-fight winning streak. He last appeared at UFC 274,
where he submitted
Justin
Gaethje with a rear-naked choke in the first round of their May
7 pairing. The performance was unfortunately muddied by pre-fight
controversy, as Oliveira was stripped of the undisputed lightweight
championship for failing to make weight. Makhachev, meanwhile, has
rattled off 10 straight victories. He last competed on Feb. 26,
when he took out
Bobby Green
with punches in the first round of their UFC Fight Night 202
confrontation.
As Oliveira and Makhachev move ever closer to their pivotal battle
at 155 pounds, a look at some of the numbers that have accompanied
them to this point:
33: Years of age for Oliveira, who was born in Guaruja, Brazil, on
Oct. 17, 1989.
9: Oliveira wins by knockout or technical knockout, accounting for
27% of his career total (33). His list of UFC victims:
Michael
Chandler,
Jared
Gordon and
Nik Lentz.
Oliveira holds 31 other wins by submission (64%) and three more by
decision (3%).
18: Post-fight bonuses banked by Oliveira across his 30 assignments
in the UFC, tying him with
Donald
Cerrone for most on the promotion’s all-time list. It has
resulted in $915,000 of additional income for the Brazilian.
15: Consecutive calendar years in which Oliveira has fought at
least once. In addition to his 1-0 mark in 2022, he went 6-0 in
2008, 4-0 in 2009, 4-1 in 2010, 0-1 with one no contest in 2011,
2-1 in 2012, 0-1 in 2013, 3-0 in 2014, 2-1 in 2015, 0-2 in 2016,
1-1 in 2017, 3-0 in 2018, 3-0 in 2019, 2-0 in 2020 and 2-0 in
2021.
208: Combined victories between the eight opponents—
Paul Felder,
Ricardo
Lamas,
Anthony
Pettis,
Max
Holloway,
Frankie
Edgar,
Cub Swanson,
Donald
Cerrone and
Jim
Miller—who have beaten Oliveira. They sport a .693 cumulative
winning percentage at 208-91-1.
31: Years of age for Makhachev, who was born on Sept. 27, 1991 in
Makhachkala, Russia.
10: Makhachev victories by submission, accounting for 46% of his
career total (22). His methods of choice: four triangle chokes, two
armbars, two rear-naked chokes, one arm-triangle choke and one
kimura. Makhachev owns four other victories by knockout or
technical knockout (18%) and eight more by decision (36%).
2,576: Days since Makhachev experienced his only professional
setback—a first-round technical knockout loss to
Adriano
Martins at UFC 192 on Oct. 3, 2015.
6: UFC appearances in which Makhachev has completed multiple
takedowns. He established a high-water mark by landing five of them
in a unanimous decision over the aforementioned Lentz at UFC 208 in
February 2017.
.698: Cumulative winning percentage between the 11 opponents—Green,
Lentz,
Dan Hooker,
Thiago
Moises,
Drew Dober,
Davi
Ramos,
Arman
Tsarukyan,
Kajan
Johnson,
Gleison
Tibau,
Chris Wade
and
Leo
Kuntz—Makhachev has defeated since he joined the UFC roster in
2015. They boast a combined record of 250-103-5.