In the UFC lightweight division, where the championship belt is awarded to Islam Makhachev the last interesting contender for the title has been exterminated. Beneil Dariush hasn’t lost since 2019, went on a winning streak of eight and one more – guaranteed to lead him to a title fight, but victory didn’t happen. The sad thing is that Dariush was defeated by a man who himself lost very easily to Islam Makhachev in October 2022. Brazilian Charles Oliveira Dariush scored from a standing position, said very loudly that he wanted to return the championship belt, but did not even name Makhachev. The situation is complicated by another fact – currently there is not a single person with a winning streak in the top ten of the lightweight rankings. 10 out of 10 fighters in the last two fights are sure to have a loss.
Accordingly, in the first place is Oliveira, who lost to Makhachev in two rounds. Behind him are Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje, beaten by him. They will fight on July 29, but it will still be difficult to explain why the winner of this fight should fight Makhachev before the Brazilian.
Bellator fighter and top Russian lightweight outside of the UFC (according to FightMatrix rankings), Alexandre Shabliy tells what happened in the fight between Dariush and Oliveira, assesses the strength of Makhachev and explains why Islam has almost no interesting lightweight fights anymore.
– I was waiting for Dariush to win. For some reason, I thought he was going to win. He beat Mateusz Gamrot in the previous fight, and he’s my sparring partner, I know how good he is, but Dariusz showed up well with him. I treated Oliveira like a downgraded fighter, but he didn’t disappoint.
– After this fight, did you think that the rematch between Islam Makhachev and Oliveira seemed interesting to you?
On the one hand, there is the story. Oliveira overtook Dariush – there was a plot. But, as Islam writes, there are levels in this game. I saw for myself that Oliveira and Dariush are fighters who went out, fought and that was it. There was no battle plan, no professionalism. Seems a bit primitive to me. I work with a left-hander, I have to hit with the right hand and the right foot, and he [Оливейра] all the fighting does.
– Oliveira shot quite well with his right hand and then immediately added his right foot. Then, at the end, he didn’t alternate hands, but threw 3-4 punches from the right. Is it bad?
– I say – why did he do that? Because Dariush is left-handed. When working against a southpaw, you focus on the right side. And you go for the leg. But by confusion, I mean there was a lot of action in the first round. And there was everything: the clinch…the fight…failed me. If Dariush had a plan for the fight, he would have let it all go and started making his own.
The first draw – Oliveira tried to stop, in the end he just filled himself. In other words, this is clearly not what he wanted. We see that he can’t let go, he throws it anyway, misses a few shots, gets up and takes the fight with his pressure. Even before the conversation, I reviewed the fight in order to understand exactly when Dariush lost control of what was happening. He seemed to be on top, started to finish, then got up and, mind you, landed two slow jabs. It felt like they were on their fifth round. At this moment, it was clear that he was swimming. Turns out either he was tired like that or he swam off something. But in the first round, in the third minute, being so tired leaves him with big questions.
– But there is no feeling that Oliveira understands that he has good Thai boxing, that he is a hitter and that is why he is advancing so aggressively?
– You are partly right. His good side is pressure in battle. He presses well, he has a punch and he can hit it. But, if there is a person who has a little understanding of boxing and can work as a second number, he will just drag him to his feet. Exactly what we saw in the battle with Islam Makhachev, when he pulled him a little – he met him. Pulled a little again and met. I don’t know, I watched the fight in the morning, I was like, well, how could that be, he was a champion too. So much confusion.
– Islam, in a fight with Oliveira, threw the same combination about six times. What else is he doing good against Oliveira? Does he move on his feet?
– Yes. Oliveira is a very easy read for me. You must walk away with it after each move. Hit – broke the distance. Knock again. Gone again. And when you move with him, he starts a slight panic. Dariush at the very beginning wanted to do it, he shot himself a bit, but then Oliveira started crushing him, Dariush got into turmoil and his whole fight plan fell apart. And Oliveira also has a plus – he can take a beating. He approaches, without deaf protection, he simply raises his hands and passes all the direct lines in this area [показывает лоб и грудь]. But how much he had in the battles, when he fell and got up. That’s a plus – he’s not afraid to take a hit, get up and keep going.
– Do you think that Oliveira can change in the same way as Algemain Sterling between the first and the second fight with Petr Yan?
– Sterling is younger as a fighter, he took less damage. He is developing, in the fight with Cejudo he was already better in the position. And Oliveira has a fight-in-fight image. Maybe he will see something in Islam’s fight against Volkanovski, he will pay attention to some errors in the preparation, but I would still say that Islam is upper class and more trained as a fighter, more disciplined.
– Have you met at least one person in Russia or America who would think that Oliveira would win the battle against Islam?
Someone said, but I can’t remember who. On the other hand, even Parumpa, our Brazil coach in the US Top Team gym, said Islam will win. He said Islam has good control, tricks. In addition, Parumpa himself is very fond of the triangle of hands, he gives him a lot of work in the hall, different exits. And he noted when Islam conquered him with his favorite thing. I think he understands the level of our fighters well.
– Dustin Poirier, Justin Gaethje, Charles Oliveira and 77kg champion Leon Edwards… imagine you could put one of these fighters on to fight Islam Makhachev.
— Leon Edwards. The skill set is about the same, but it has a pronounced highlight – it’s a stance. And he is trained as a fighter. With Usman, he stuck to the plan, he didn’t deviate from it, he had good defense against the fight. Plus the weight. It seems to me that if Islam translates it, it will be able to rise.
I worked with Poirier and nothing really changed for him after the fight with Khabib. He made a mistake in the fight, a failure, so he stayed. I think for Islam it will be a convenient opponent.
– And one could say that it will not be so easy for Charles Oliveira to find training partners for Islam Makhachev. In other words, we need a wrestler with the skills of a grappler, a certain weight, who will still be free during this period?
– If you take Charles Oliveira and his training in Brazil, he brought a wrestler from Iran last time. For me, his level was questionable. They worked – and even on camera – while walking, and Charles tried to do Islam in the very first round. It’s such an element of the fight against the body when you go behind the leg. He tried to do it and Islam countered him. Turns out they had a battle plan – to fight Islam. It’s a battle plan.
Coming back to the question, in Russia you can find sparring partners, but in the United States it is more difficult. When I was preparing for the fight under Tofik Musaev, I understood that in the United States everyone is preparing for their own fight and it will be difficult to find a good drummer. And I did all the work in Russia, then I came over there and just finished it. Datsi Datsiev, an international kickboxer, helped me, he easily copied Tofik, and with him I went through the training camp with the Russian team.
What do you think the UFC lightweight fight will do now?
– It seems to me that Islam will win against Oliveira for the second time. Nothing will change. It would be more interesting for me to see a rematch against Alex Volkanovski. Or for Islam to move up to welterweight and fight Edwards.
– You fight in Bellator, how do you feel when they say ACA lightweights could fight UFC champions on equal footing. Now Artem Reznikov and Eduard Vartanyan will fight in the Grand Prix final.
– It seems to me that Vartanyan could be better than Oliveira. For me, he is a much more intellectually developed fighter. He can fight while standing and standing up from stalls. And he could have been more interesting to fight. For some reason people think if you’re in UFC you’re definitely stronger than other fighters, if you’re in Bellator then you’re stronger than everyone but UFC. And it’s a matter of luck. Yes, I was signed to Bellator, not signed to UFC, but I train with UFC fighters and I understand their level. It happens that guys come that few people know, who play in leagues that are not in the top 5. And they show a very good level.
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Source : MatchTV
I am Ashley Ortiz and I am a professional journalist working for Athletistic. My specialty is in sports journalism, particularly boxing. I have written articles for some of the most renowned publications on the subject, and my work has been featured across both print and digital media platforms.
