“Dana (White) Changed It Just to Expose Ariel (Helwani)”- Fans Left in Disbelief as UFC CEO Rubbishes Controversial Reporters Claim Over Islam Makhachev and Charles Oliveira Rematch in January

Islam Makhachev and Charles Oliveira is a rivalry that we just didn’t get to see on time. All because Oliveira had to pull out of his UFC 294 bout due to a devastating cut on his head. Now, fans have questions and Dana White’s answer to them is probably not satisfying enough.

UFC 297 is coming and it’s coming fast. However, is that a shot at redemption for Dana White and Co.? Perhaps they could arrange a title match between the two warriors. After Oliveira’s pulling out, a much anti-climatic match against Alexander Volkanovski left fans asking for more. The only question is, will they get what they root for?

Dana White confirms status of Charles Oliveira vs. Makhachev

Recently, UFC CEO Dana White had an interesting talk with ESPN’s Brett Okamoto. And White had some saddening news with him. He confirmed that Oliveira vs. Makhachev won’t be headlining UFC 297 at all. And ‘Do Bronx’ is still at the top of the list for contenders so what’s really going on? Fans had things to say about it for sure.

Also read: “Find Another Contender”- Charles Oliveira Given “No Chance” Against Islam Makhachev by Fans as Reports Claim Rematch Set for UFC 297

Earlier, Ariel Helwani reported that the fight could go down at UFC 297 in January. So the question is, did White call it off just to show Helwani who’s boss? Or was the fight never going to happen in the first place? Here are some of the fan reactions from Instagram.

“Dana probably changed it just to expose Ariel’

“Dana changed it just to mess with Ariel”

A lot of fans pointed out White and Helwani’s very public rivalry. Some others were concerned with the venue of the potential match.

“Just not Abu Dhabi again.. for the love of god.”

“they’re going to put this sh*t in Abu Dhabi”

Others felt like White probably planned out the news to bait Helwani.

“Wouldn’t be surprised if dana initially fed the January date to ariels sources then to just expose him. Based dana”

“Dana like nah guess we switching”

Finally, one fan came to the journalist’s defense.

“Ariel said it was targeted there never said it was going to be the case”

So what was it that Helwani said that had fans riled up? The journalist may have hinted at a possible date for the fight to finally go down. The pay-per-view was at UFC 297 in Toronto, in the month of January. It makes sense when you factor in that Oliveira has not been too hurt to stay out of the fight for long. But was it enough to convince fans he’ll be back quickly?

Helwani’s assumptions swatted by Team Makhachev

On November 4th, Helwani tweeted “The current plan – though not finalized just yet – is to have Islam Makhachev x Charles Oliveira 2 – headline UFC 297. That event, while not officially announced yet, is currently slated to Jan. 20 in Toronto,” from his X handle. However, Ali Abdelaziz, Makhachev’s manager was quick to refute it.

“Fake news @MAKHACHEVMMA fighting Charles Oliveira in January” Abdelaziz tweeted from his X handle. So clearly, the fight is not going to happen so soon. While Oliveira seems to have physically healed, he’s still going to take his time before stepping back inside the Octagon. When would you hope to see him and Makhachev in action again? Let us know in the comments.

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