Charles Oliveira congratulates former opponent Islam Makhachev after the Russian kept his lightweight title by edging out Alexander Volkanovski in a thriller at UFC 284 in Perth
Charles Oliveira went backstage to praise Islam Makhachev after the Russian defended his lightweight title at UFC 284.
Makhachev retained his belt with a unanimous decision victory against pound-for-pound No 1 Australian Alexander Volkanovski in Perth in the early hours of Sunday morning.
And Oliveira, still the highest-ranked star in the lightweight division, sportingly congratulated the 31-year-old in person.
The Brazilian, speaking in Portuguese, called over a translator so that Makhachev could understand him.
The pair then shook hands and embraced when Makhachev understood what Oliveira, 33-9 (1), had said to him.
Charles Oliveira has congratulated Islam Makhachev after he defended his lightweight title
The Russian (pictured) beat Australian Alexander Volkanovski in a five-round epic at UFC 284
Backstage at the RAC Arena in western Australia, Dagestani Makhachev (24-1) then responded to the translator, who relayed his message to the 33-year-old, before they hugged again.
Makhachev won the lightweight title from No 1-ranked in the division Oliveira at UFC 280 in October, winning via submission in the Performance of the Night.
In the build-up to that fight, ‘Do Bronx’ insisted his opponent’s team had disrespected him, while Makhachev denied accusations of arrogance.
But they now seem to have buried the hatchet, despite both fighting for dominance at the top of the same weight class.
Before the fight, Oliveira had said: ‘They’re two great fighters. Alexander is a guy that defends takedowns well. He hits, he kicks very hard.
‘On the other side, Islam has very good takedowns. When he gets you down, he puts on the pressure. My concern with Islam is that on the feet when I up-kicked him, he ate it and sat down. He went limp.
‘I think Islam wins, but if Volkanovski defends the takedowns in the first round and connects with the hands…’.
Oliveira’s manager and coach Diego Lima claimed Charles will now face American Beneil Dariush at UFC 288 in May.
Makhachev (24-1) had earlier taken the lightweight title from Oliveira (right) in October 2022
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