Charles Oliveira will look to reclaim his recent lightweight title at UFC 280, but it would seem it will be a tall order as Oddsmakers have the Brazilian as the underdog against Islam Makhachev.
After winning the vacant belt at UFC 262, Oliveira has looked like a world beater as he ran through contenders as champion. However, after missing weight at UFC 274, he will once again find himself challenging for the title he once had as a contender himself. His opponent, Islam Makhachev, is not only the current protege of Khabib Nurmagomedov, the man to hold the belt prior to Oliveira but also his biggest test yet.
What makes the Dagestani fighter even more intimidating, however, is his dominance. He has been the betting favorite in every single fight over his UFC career. He even opened up against Oliveira at -300 to Oliveira’s +250 value, although the odds have since shifted to Makhachev at -210 and Oliveira +165 at popular bookmaker BetUS.
What that means is that should the former champion pull off the upset, those who wager $100 look to return a profit of an additional $165, while it would require a bid of $210 on Makhachev to return a profit of $100.
There is an easy argument that this is a matchup of the division’s current two best grapplers. While no man has even shown an ability to compete with Islam on the canvas, Oliveira has the UFC record for most submissions inside the octagon. With his ever-improving striking, however, Charles “Do Bronx” offers Makhachev more of a threat than he has ever seen before inside an MMA cage.
Here are the opening odds for the pair’s last five fights.
Charles Oliveira’s last five fights
- vs. Justin Gaethje (W): -205
- vs. Dustin Poirier (W): +145
- vs. Michael Chandler (W): -178
- vs. Tony Ferguson (W): +110
- vs. Kevin Lee (W): -140
Islam Makhachev’s last five fights
- vs. Bobby Green (W): -450
- vs. Dan Hooker (W): -300
- vs. Thiago Moises (W): -500
- vs. Drew Dober (W): -400
- vs. Davi Ramos (W) -405