Charles Oliveira put on a stellar performance at UFC 274 after defeating Justin Gaethje in the first round with a rear-naked choke submission. The ESPN MMA Awards honored Oliveira’s match-winning move as the ‘Submission of the Year.’ Current UFC Lightweight Champion Islam Makhachev made a comment in an Instagram post shared by ESPN MMA.
The Instagram post was about Oliveira winning the best submission, where Makhachev commented with an ‘eyes’ emoji. This comment was made in relation to the fight between the Dagestani champion and Oliveira at UFC 280. Islam Makhachev totally dominated the Brazilian fighter in that bout and captured the then-vacant UFC lightweight championship.
View this post on Instagram
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
Makhachev won the fight by submission. He caught Oliveira in an arm triangle choke submission to the end of the second round. ‘Do Bronx’ struggled to free himself from that predicament and finally tapped out. Oliveira, however, had a previously faster win than the UFC Lightweight Champion. While Makhachev finished the match in the second round, Oliveira managed to defeat Justin Gaethje in the first round.
Fans believe Islam Makhachev should have won the best submission award
Many fans believe that Islam Makhachev should have won the best submission award instead of Charles Oliveira. They believe that the Dagestani fighter is a superior performer among the two UFC stars. Makhachev dominated Oliveira in their fight, and hence, fans are siding with the UFC lightweight champion.
ISLAM MAKHACHEV SUBMITS CHARLES OLIVEIRA
A LIGHTWEIGHT CHAMPION HAS BEEN NAMED 🏆 #UFC280 pic.twitter.com/TOD3VdbiLF
— UFC Canada (@UFC_CA) October 22, 2022
Here’s how social media users reacted:
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
- @islam_makhachev you submitted the submission of the year winner
- @islam_makhachev should be you, my brother
- Islam deserves the number 1 pound-for-pound fighter of the year submission of the year nobody can beat Islam nobody inshallah and still
- I still don’t understand how Islam’s submission of Charles is not submission of the year. And I’m a Charles fan.
- Huh? You must have forgot Islam 280 ?
- Islam or Nate should have gotten this. Nate from the 209 stopped the clock at 2:09
- Are you serious?? Islam’s submission of Charles was Far more impressive and you know it, no disrespect but so does Charles.
- Didn’t Islam submit this guy and won gold?
- Islam’s was better and I’m not even a fan of his lol
- How is it submission of the year when Gaethje is totally clueless on the ground?
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
While many fans wanted to see a rematch between Oliveira and Makhachev, it won’t happen soon. Instead, the Russian champion will face Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 284. Who do you think will win?
WATCH THIS STORY: UFC 280 Highlights: Islam Makhachev Tributes Khabib, Logan & Jake Paul Wish Sean O’Malley, Charles Oliveira Vows to Get Back