UFC 280's best fights: Oliveira-Makhachev provide clash of styles in main event

UFC 280 mightiness beryllium the deepest paper the promotion has enactment connected truthful acold this twelvemonth -- arsenic it features indispensable fights successful 2 of the champion divisions: lightweight and bantamweight.

In the main event, the vacant UFC lightweight rubric volition beryllium decided successful a bout betwixt erstwhile champion Charles Oliveira and ascendant contender Islam Makhachev, who is trying to bring the rubric backmost to Dagestan similar his manager and erstwhile champion Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Oliveira (33-8, 1 NC) bushed Justin Gaethje successful his past fight, astatine UFC 274 past May, but helium missed value earlier the bout and was stripped of the belt. Makhachev (22-1) volition person Nurmagomedov successful his country -- it was ever the program of Nurmagomedov's precocious begetter and trainer, Abdulmanap, to person Makhachev instrumentality the UFC lightweight torch from Nurmagomedov.

There is simply a heavy undercard here, too, highlighted by 2 fantastic bantamweight matchups: Aljamain Sterling defending his 135-pound loop against erstwhile champ TJ Dillashaw and Petr Yan, different erstwhile bantamweight champ, trying to clasp disconnected the wildly fashionable Sean O'Malley.

So what I americium looking guardant to most? Here's my ranking of the evening's apical 5 attractions.

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1. Charles Oliveira vs. Islam Makhachev

If you privation to speech astir the champion warring the best, which has been the calling paper for the UFC since the aboriginal 2000s, that is precisely what you're getting here. Oliveira and Makhachev are, without question, the apical 2 lightweight fighters successful the world. Some tin poke holes successful their résumés, but realistically some are unthinkable talents successful their primes. Oliveira has won 11 fights successful a enactment and would beryllium the lightweight champion close present if not for his missing value earlier a first-round TKO triumph implicit Gaethje astatine UFC 274 successful May. Makhachev has won 10 consecutive and hopes to instrumentality the torch from his longtime teammate and existent coach, Khabib Nurmagomedov, the erstwhile ascendant UFC lightweight champion.

And the champion part? The stylistic matchup present is fascinating. Oliveira has immoderate of the champion Brazilian jiu-jitsu skills ever seen successful MMA. He has the astir submission wins successful UFC past (16) and is simply a menace to decorativeness the combat from the top, his backmost oregon by snatching a limb oregon someone's cervix successful a scramble. Meanwhile, Makhachev, similar Nurmagomedov, has shown himself to beryllium a ascendant wrestler and grappler, skills helium has plied since helium was a kid successful Dagestan. Something has to springiness here. Will Makhachev instrumentality Oliveira down and trial his elite crushed skills? Or volition Makhachev effort his manus connected the feet with Oliveira, who has rounded into a unsafe Muay Thai striker retired of Chute Box?

Oliveira has finished 10 of his past 11 opponents portion Makhachev has finished 4 straight. This combat should beryllium terrific and determine who is the champion 155-pound combatant successful the world.

2. Petr Yan vs. Sean O'Malley

This was a hard prime implicit Sterling vs. Dillashaw, a rubric combat betwixt 2 elite fighters, but this matchup is truthful incredibly intriguing for some men. O'Malley, who has a accidental to go 1 of the biggest stars successful the UFC with a win, has ne'er been challenged similar this. Yan is simply a erstwhile UFC bantamweight champion, has important powerfulness connected the feet and a bully crushed game. He was connected his mode to beating Sterling successful their archetypal combat past twelvemonth earlier an ill-advised amerciable genu caused a disqualification.

Yan vs. O'Malley is polarizing successful a way, too. UFC president Dana White has said publically that helium didn't deliberation 27-year-old O'Malley was acceptable for the caliber hostile that Yan represents. But matchmakers Sean Shelby and Mick Maynard talked White into it and O'Malley seems comfy with the measurement up successful competition.

It's casual to marque the storyline present astir O'Malley due to the fact that helium already has a large instrumentality pursuing and tin instrumentality things to a caller level this weekend. But let's not hide Yan, who remains 1 of the world's apical 2 oregon 3 champion bantamweight fighters. It would not beryllium retired of the question to spot Yan getting a Sterling trilogy bout if helium defeats O'Malley -- and helium mightiness beryllium favored implicit the Sterling vs. Dillashaw winner. Yan himself is lone 29 years old. This 1 has a large communicative down it and should deliver, arsenic well. Both are enactment fighters.

3. Aljamain Sterling vs. TJ Dillashaw

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TJ Dillashaw discusses his mentality for his upcoming combat with Aljamain Sterling astatine UFC 280.

Sterling has been 1 of the much maligned champions successful the UFC for immoderate time. He won the loop from Yan via disqualification and immoderate felt Yan adjacent won the rematch backmost successful April astatine UFC 273. It was a adjacent fight, but Sterling deserves his due. He dominated Yan connected the crushed implicit immense periods of that bout. A triumph implicit Dillashaw, a two-time erstwhile UFC bantamweight champion, would adhd credibility to Sterling's rubric reign. Sterling remains underrated and volition apt travel successful with a spot connected his shoulder.

Meanwhile, Dillashaw has a accidental to go the archetypal three-time UFC champion since Randy Couture won the heavyweight rubric for the 3rd clip successful 2007. Couture is the lone antheral ever to clasp a UFC rubric implicit 3 reigns and Dillashaw volition beryllium the 2nd if helium beats Sterling. Ring rust could beryllium an contented for Dillashaw, who has fought conscionable erstwhile successful 3 years owed to a affirmative cause trial and genu country pursuing a triumph implicit Cory Sandhagen successful July 2021. If Dillashaw prevails successful Abu Dhabi, determination volition beryllium speech of him being the champion 135-pound combatant ever and it wouldn't beryllium a atrocious statement by immoderate stretch. At 36 years old, tin Dillashaw instrumentality to his elite form? It'll beryllium fascinating to find out.

4. Beneil Dariush vs. Mateusz Gamrot

Dariush could marque a amended lawsuit for a lightweight rubric changeable than anyone extracurricular of Makhachev. He has won 7 consecutive successful the brutally pugnacious 155-pound part and successful 4 of those, helium won a $50,000 combat of the nighttime bonus. Just person 1 speech with manager Rafael Cordeiro retired of Kings MMA and you'll get an earful astir however peculiar Dariush is, arsenic a combatant and a person. Brazilian jiu-jitsu has been his calling card, but the Iran-born scrapper has besides developed powerfulness successful his hands. He's unsafe everyplace present and if helium wins Saturday, it'll beryllium hard to contradict him a rubric shot.

Honestly, Dariush deserves a ton of recognition for adjacent accepting a combat with an up-and-coming endowment similar Gamrot. Many fighters mightiness person waited for a accidental astatine the belt. Dariush shows he's consenting to instrumentality connected dangerous, rising stars similar Gamrot to cement himself arsenic a apical contender.

Gamrot has won 4 straight, is the erstwhile KSW lightweight and featherweight champion and is coming disconnected a terrific triumph implicit apical imaginable Arman Tsarukyan successful June. Former UFC airy heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz, Gamrot's Polish countryman, predicted past twelvemonth to ESPN that Gamrot would beryllium a UFC champion someday. A triumph present and it's imaginable "Gamer," who trains retired of American Top Team, gets himself successful that No. 1 contender conversation.

5. Belal Muhammad vs. Sean Brady

Like Dariush, Muhammad is simply a contender facing disconnected against a surging, little experienced fighter. Muhammad is connected the tally of his vocation and has been calling retired the likes of Khamzat Chimaev for large contender matchups. The Chicago autochthonal is unbeaten successful 8 consecutive and has conscionable 1 nonaccomplishment since 2016. Muhammad has improved his wrestling a large deal, has opportunistic striking and his combat IQ is tremendous. He has beaten Demian Maia, Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson and Vicente Luque -- 3 fighters with vastly antithetic styles -- successful 3 consecutive fights.

Brady possibly cannot beryllium considered a imaginable anymore astatine property 29. But he's undefeated astatine 15-0 and appears to beryllium 1 of the champion up-and-coming fighters successful immoderate UFC division. The Philadelphia autochthonal is an implicit beast connected the ground, with unbelievable spot determination and successful the clinch. Just inquire the antheral helium bushed last, Michael Chiesa, who has 1 of the champion grappling games successful the division. On apical of that, Brady has powerfulness successful his hands. He's a erstwhile Cage Fury FC welterweight champion and a recently minted welterweight contender who could beryllium calved Saturday nighttime if Brady beats Muhammad.