Chael Sonnen on why Justin Gaethje's "domination" comment suggests that Islam Makhachev may choose to strike against Charles Oliveira

Islam Makhachev will have his first lightweight title shot at UFC 280 against Charles Oliveira. Since his entering the UFC, many have predicted that it will only be a matter of time before Makhachev becomes a champion. Chael Sonnen recently analyzed Justin Gaethje's comments on the upcoming title fight.

Charles Oliveira was stripped of his title after missing weight by half a pound prior to UFC 274. While Oliveira believes that those issues were 'faked', he was able to defeat Justin Gaethje and will be looking to claim his belt back. Islam Makhachev will possibly be entering the toughest fight of his career, in a title opportunity many felt was undeserved due to his lack of quality opponents.

While speaking on his Beyond the Fight podcast, Chael Sonnen discussed comments by Gaethje regarding the upcoming UFC 280 matchup, stating (starting at the 2:11 mark):

"Gaethje did not predict Oliveira. He did not predict Islam. I want to give you his quote one more time. 'I am one hundred percent sure that Islam will not dominate Oliveira'. If Islam can't dominate him, Islam's not going to beat him."

Sonnen continued to add (starting at the 3:20 mark):

"Nobody has ever gone through anybody, put them on the ground the whole time and not dominated them, and Justin says that's not going to happen, so what is Justin saying? Is he saying that Islam doesn't have the ability to take Oliveira down whenever he wants?"

Finally, Sonnen concluded (starting at 4:10 mark):

"Gaethje isn't saying that Islam is going to win. He's not saying Islam's going to lose. He says Islam's not going to dominate. To me, that means Islam is not going to take Oliveira down whenever he wants."

Watch Chael Sonnen's full analysis of Justin Gaethje's breakdown of Charles Oliveira versus Islam Makhachev below:

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Charles Oliveira and Islam Makhachev put their win streaks on the line

Charles Oliveira will enter UFC 280 with an eleven fight winning-streak and Islam Makhachev will enter with ten consecutive wins. Oliveira hasn't lost a fight since 2017, while Islam hasn't since 2015.

One of these streaks will come to an end at UFC 280, but neither fighter can be overlooked. Oliveira has shown that he has the ability to defeat elite fighters. He has dominated the lightweight division since Khabib Nurmagomedov's departure. Makhachev has not faced the same level of talent as Oliveira, but he has been utterly dominant- securing four finishes in his last four fights.