Makhachev forced Oliveira to submission in the second round of the UFC 280 main event title fight in UAE.
Russia’s Islam Makhachev is the new UFC lightweight champion following an impressive submission win over Charles Oliveira in the main event of UFC 280 at the Etihad Arena, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates on Saturday.
The lightweight belt had remained vacant after the Brazilian, Oliveira, missed the weight cut for his title defence fight against America’s Justin Gaethje. Oliveira defeated the latter in the fight but had to beat Makhachev to set his hand on the belt again.
The first round of the fight barely had moments of real quality, but things quickly went haywire for Oliveira when Makhachev punched and quickly jumped on the Brazilian and put him on a choke hold, forcing Oliveira to tap for submission.
After the fight, UFC legend Khabib Nurmagomedov and current Makhachev’s coach quickly rushed to the Octagon to celebrate with the 31-year-old.
Khabib took over his father as the Russian’s coach following his death in 2020.
Makhachev has now recorded 23 wins, 11 by submission, 4 by knockout and 8 by decision and one loss in Mixed Martial Arts career.
Meanwhile, Aljamain Sterling successfully defended his Bantamweight title in the co-main event of the UFC 280 against T.J. Dillashaw, who came out of a two-year suspension for failing a drug test.
Dillashaw held the title at that time but relinquished his belt after the incident.
Despite his shoulder was dislocated in the first round of the fight, relentless Dillashaw managed to finish the round but his shoulder popped again in the second half, allowing Aljamain to pin the American down until referee Mark Goddard stopped the fight.
