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American Top Team's founder Dan Lambert has made his pick for a possible clash between former lightweight champion Charles Oliveira and Islam Makhachev.
In the latest episode of the Punchin' In podcast, Lambert discussed the lightweight matchup. He said he would favor the Dagestani to emerge victorious in a matchup against 'Do Bronx':
"Do I think Islam's gonna beat Charles Oliveira? Who's on my top five? Yeah. If I had to bet on that fight, I'd bet on him [Makhachev]... If he beats Charles, he's immediately on that [pound-for-pound] ranking and he will deserve to be."
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You can watch the full episode of the Punchin' In podcast below:
Talks of a fight between Oliveira and Makhachev have been brewing for quite some time. Both are currently having amazing runs in the lightweight division of the UFC.
The Brazilian has won 11 fights in a row in the lightweight shark tank. This streak includes victories over fighters like Justin Gaethje, Dustin Poirier, Michael Chandler and Tony Ferguson.
Makhachev, on the other hand, is on a 10-fight win streak but lacks big names on his resume. His biggest win was arguably over Dan Hooker at UFC 267, who took the fight on short-notice.
Charles Oliveira plans to call out Khabib Nurmagomedov after possibly defeating Islam Makhachev
Oliveira is confident that he will get the better of Makhachev if the two ever meet inside the octagon.
'Do Bronx' recently stated that after beating the 30-year-old, he had a desire to challenge Khabib Nurmagomedov and ask him to come out of retirement for a fight:
"I'm gonna beat him. Listen, I will beat Islam Makhachev. The problem of this division is called Charles Oliveira. Forget Conor McGregor. Let's do it. Charles Oliveira vs. Islam Makhachev in Brazil... I will beat him, then who knows? Maybe you [Khabib Nurmagomedov] come out of retirement to fight me. I'm gonna beat Islam and call Khabib to come out." [translation via @crashmma on Instagram]
Nurmagomedov's last appearance in the UFC octagon took place in October 2020. 'The Eagle' successfully defended his lightweight title against Justin Gaethje before announcing his retirement from the sport.
