The former lightweight champion Charles Oliveira says that he won’t be trash talking the current lightweight champion Islam Makhachev ahead of their rematch at UFC 294.
Last October, Oliveira lost to Islam Makhachev via a submission in the second round. The fight was a simple affair for the Russian fighter as Oliveira didn’t provide a performance that we had come to expect from the greatest finisher in UFC history. Oliveira admitted this himself while speaking on the Trocacao Franca podcast. The former champ claimed believes that he let the trash talk go to his head and made the mistake of fighting emotionally.
“That’s the only fight I talked crap, the fight against Islam,” Charles Oliveira said on MMA Fighting’s Trocação Franca podcast. “I made a mistake. I won’t make that mistake again. We can only make mistakes once in life. When you make a mistake once, you can’t do it a second time, otherwise you’ll go down nonstop. I won’t do it again.
“If you look at all of my fights, you’ll see that night I didn’t fight 10 percent of what I can do. Not a hater, not an analyst that is constantly saying crap, but people that understand fighting. If you watch everything I’ve said for all my fights, the only one where I’ve [gone outside my norm] a little bit and said some things, talked some crap, was the one against Islam, and I won’t make that mistake again,” Oliveira added.
If Oliveira focuses on what he can control he believes his skill-set will be enough on the night.
“We want to make history,” Oliveira said. “Islam is very tough, deserves all respect in the world, he’s evolving immensely, but I have a dream. I want to become champion again. I want to continue making history, showing the kids from the favela that if you truly believe in something you can win in life. We’re here to break records.”
Quotes via bjpenn.com
Charles Oliveira and The Lightweight Division
What next for the lightweight division? All eyes will be on UFC 294 to see the crowning either Charles Oliveira and Islam Makhachev. Justin Gaethje is also in title contention after a stunning head kick knockout of Dustin Poirier. We are also yet to see the return of the UFC legend Conor McGregor with his highly anticipated fight against Michael Chandler. And still the division waits to see the return of the great Alexander Volkanovski against whoever the champ is at the time. It’s safe to say that the lightweight division has some truly exciting match ups for the years to come. However, only Makhachev is the only person in the lightweight top 5 to not lose to the phenomenal Charles Oliveira.
Can Charles Oliveira get redemption when he faces lightweight champion Islam Makhachev? Let us know in the comments.
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
