Charles Oliveira and Islam Makhachev will fight for the lightweight belt at UFC 280 in Abu Dhabi on Oct. 22, the UFC announced Saturday.
The title of UFC lightweight champion is currently vacant after Oliveira was stripped of the distinction for weighing in a half-pound above the 155-pound limit before a bout against Justin Gaethje in May. He won that fight via submission to extend his winning streak to 11.
Makhachev, 30, has a 10-fight win streak of his own, but none of those victories were against a fighter currently ranked among the top nine lightweights. Oliveira’s last three wins came against Gaethje, Dustin Poirier and Michael Chandler, the division’s third-, second-, and fifth-ranked contenders, respectively.
Last month, Oliveira called for a fight against former lightweight champ Conor McGregor, despite the Irish superstar’s slide to 12th in the division rankings.
“It would put a lot of money in my pocket, and [at this moment] that’s the most important thing,” Oliveira said of a fight with McGregor, via ESPN Brazil. “And it would also be really good for my legacy, for me to have in my story. Regardless, if he’s coming from defeat or not, he’s a guy who’s made history, so I think it would be great, but it’s not just up to me. If it were up to me, this fight would already be happening.”
In his most recent fight, Makhachev — a protégé of former lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov — beat Bobby Green by technical knockout.
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