Former Ultimate Fighting Championship champ Charles Oliveira isn’t falling for Islam Makhachev’s bravado. Makhachev recently took to social media to outline his upcoming schedule.
He stated that his first fight would be against Justin Gaethje on June 8. He then planned to return in November to fight the winner of the match between Oliveira and Arman Tsarukyan. His next defense would be in February 2025, against anyone. Oliveira, however, isn’t convinced that things will go as Makhachev plans.
Makhachev’s late start to the year is due to two reasons. He’s sustained an injury and the observance of Ramadan from March 10 to April 9, 2024. As a native of Dagestan, he would need time to recover and train properly, hence the June start time. Oliveira isn’t buying it.
In an interview with Ag. Fight, Oliveira voiced his doubts. “What came to us is that Islam got injured, he will only be able to fight towards the end of the year, practically, middle of the year,” he said. He questioned the logic of Makhachev’s plan, hinting at a potential marketing ploy.
Oliveira’s coach, Diego Lima, went a step further. He suggested that Makhachev might be buying time or even avoiding Oliveira. Lima made it clear that they respect Makhachev, but he believes that Makhachev doesn’t want to fight Oliveira. He insisted that the UFC knows that this fight makes sense and expressed confidence in Oliveira’s ability to win his next challenge and make a different fight than the first one with Makhachev.