An old video has resurfaced of Khabib Nurmagomedov tearing into the ground game of Charles Oliveira before UFC 280.
While the main event of UFC 280 will be contested between Charles Oliveira and Islam Makhachev, with the UFC lightweight championship on the line, there’s certainly a looming presence in the air in the form of Khabib Nurmagomedov.
‘The Eagle’, formerly known as the best 155-pounder in the world, has been backing Makhachev in the media pretty heavily in the lead-up to this contest.
Everyone knows that the ground game of Makhachev has the potential to cause ‘Do Bronx’ problems but Khabib has really been hammering that point home.
In a clip that has popped back up from a few months ago, Khabib can be seen explaining his thinking to Kamaru Usman and Henry Cejudo.
“This is what Islam gonna do with Charles Olivera: he gonna ride him like you ride your horse,” Nurmagomedov said. “A lot of people underestimate Islam. They think Charles Oliveira have ground game. He don’t have ground game. If you tap eight times in UFC, how can you say you have ground game? You tap eight times!”
What it appears as if Khabib means to say is that Oliveira has lost eight times in the UFC, because in reality, he’s only been submitted on three occasions. His last submission defeat came all the way back in November 2016, and since then, he’s submitted eight different opponents including his last two, Justin Gaethje and Dustin Poirier.
Whichever way you look at it, this title bout has the potential to be one of the best fights of the year.
What do you think about Khabib Nurmagomedov’s remarks regarding Charles Oliveira and his run in the UFC? Let us know your thoughts in the comments, BJPENN Nation!
