Watch: Islam Makhachev puts his sparring partner to sleep while training in Dubai for Charles Oliveira fight at UFC 280

Islam Makhachev rendered one of his sparring partners unconscious during a training session ahead of his all-important fight against Charles Oliveira. The No. 4-ranked UFC lightweight Makhachev is scheduled to face the No.1-ranked Oliveira for the vacant UFC lightweight title at UFC 280 in Abu Dhabi on October 22.

Makhachev is on a 10-fight win streak and Oliveira is on an 11-fight win streak. Russia's Makhachev is widely regarded as one of the best wrestlers in the UFC today, while Brazil's Oliveira is heralded among the greatest BJJ artists in the promotion.

Considering the aforementioned variables at play, the consensus is that the upcoming fight will feature high-level submission attempts between two of the best grapplers the UFC lightweight division has ever seen. On that note, during a training session at the NAS Sports Complex in Dubai, Islam Makhachev once again showcased his exceptional submission prowess.

As featured in a video posted on the Anatomy of a Fighter, the Dagestani MMA stalwart put a sparring partner to sleep during a grappling exchange.

Ensnaring his partner in what appeared to be a D'Arce choke, Makhachev choked him unconscious. Thankfully, he immediately let go of the choke once he realized that his partner had stopped resisting. The latter quickly regained consciousness.

Watch Makhachev render his sparring partner unconscious at 6:04 in the video below:

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Josh Thomson explains how Islam Makhachev could submit Charles Oliveira at UFC 280

In an edition of the WEIGHING IN podcast earlier this year, Islam Makhachev's longtime training partner Josh Thomson addressed his upcoming fight against former UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira. Thomson opined that Makhachev's bodily strength would play a pivotal role in the matchup and help gradually open up submission opportunities against Oliveira.

The retired MMA fighter expressed his excitement regarding Islam Makhachev vs. Charles Oliveira and picked Makhachev to beat 'do Bronx.' Predicting a methodical approach from Makhachev, 'The Punk' highlighted that the Dagestani is likely to secure an eventual submission stoppage:

"He's [Islam] my boy and I think Charles, I think he's gonna get submitted. I think that Islam is gonna get the takedown, he's gonna dominate the top position. He's gonna work slowly and methodically with heavy pressure on the top, and he's gonna end up getting either the kimura, some sort of D'arce, some sort of choke, he's gonna end up on top. The strength of Islam is gonna be the big factor in this and the control on the top position, that's the way I look at it."

Watch Thomson's assessment below: