Charles Oliveira seeks to reclaim the lightweight title Saturday in the main event of UFC 280 when he faces surging contender Islam Makhachev for the belt. Their battle is the second of a title-fight doubleheader from Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. The pay-per-view main UFC 280 fight card is set for 2 p.m. ET. Oliveira won the title at UFC 262 and defended it once before being stripped of the belt because of a weight miss at UFC 274 in May. Even so, he hasn’t lost in nearly five years and has won 11 consecutive fights. The No. 4-ranked Makhachev makes his first title-fight appearance though his level of competition has been questioned during his 10-fight winning streak.
UFC 280: Oliveira vs Makhachev Results
Armen Petrosyan defeats AJ Dobson by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Muhammad Mokaev defeats Malcolm Gordon by submission (armbar) at 4:26 of Round 3
Karol Rosa defeats Lina Lansberg by majority decision (29-27, 29-27, 28-28)
Marley won the first-ever “ToutMaster” UFC betting contest sponsored by MMAOddsBreaker and appears regularly on multiple MMA betting and daily Fantasy shows. He watches every single fight for every professional MMA card and does extensive research before each event.
Over the past three-plus years, $100 bettors who have followed Marley’s picks are up more than $13,000. The accomplished MMA analyst kicked off the 2022 UFC season in January by advising SportsLine members to back Calvin Kattar (+200) against Giga Chikadze (-240) in the featherweight main event. Kattar’s lopsided unanimous-decision victory gave Marley’s followers another easy winner. Anyone who has followed him is way up.
UFC 280: Charles Oliveira vs. Islam Makhachev preview
The main event is one of the most anticipated matchups in the history of the lightweight division. The late-blooming Oliveira (33-8-1) had lost four of six and appeared headed toward journeyman status before he embarked on his current winning streak.
The 33-year-old Brazilian has long been one of the sport’s dominant grapplers, but he has added a lethal stand-up game and overcame what was a widespread perception of an inability to withstand adversity.
Oliveira knocked out Michael Chandler in the second round of their May 2021 matchup to win the title and defended it seven months later with a submission of Dustin Poirier seven months later. He was stripped of the title before his defense against Justin Gaethje in May for missing weight by a half pound on a scale that many other fighters on the card complained gave inaccurate readings.
He submitted Gaethje in the first round but was demoted to the top-ranked contender and must now beat Makhachev to reclaim the title.
Makhachev (22-1) is known for his speed wrestling and ground-and-pound in a style that reminds many of his coach and mentor, Khabib Nurmagomedov, the former champion who retired in 2020 with a 29-0 record.
UFC 280 odds, fight card
Islam Makhachev (-190) vs. Charles Oliveira (+170)
Aljamain Sterling (-175) vs. T.J. Dillashaw (+155)
Petr Yan (-275) vs. Sean O’Malley (+235)
Mateusz Gamrot (-185) vs. Beneil Dariush (+165)
Sean Brady (-145) vs Belal Muhammad (+125)
Manon Fiorot (-210) vs Katlyn Chookagian (+180)
Caio Borralho (-200) vs. Makhmud Muradov (+175)
Nikita Krylov (-170) vs. Volkan Oezdemir (+150)
Zubaira Tukhugov (-165) vs. Lucas Almeida (+145)
Armen Petrosyan (-200) vs. A.J. Dobson (+175)
Muhammad Mokaev (-1,200) vs. Malcom Gordon (+750)
Karol Rosa (-300) vs. Lina Lansberg (+250)