“He Was Better Than Me Because…”: 8 Months After Losing His Lightweight Championship to Islam Makhachev, Charles Oliveira Comes Clean About His Loss at UFC 280

Charles Oliveira will be returning to the Octagon this Saturday at the Rogers Arena in Vancouver, Canada. He will face Beneil Dariush in the co-main event of UFC 289. However, he wasn’t so lucky in his last outing against Islam Makhachev. ‘Do Bronx’ opened up about his UFC 280 loss in a recent interview.

Charles Oliveira is one of Brazil’s biggest MMA stars. He became a force to be reckoned with in the UFC due to his offensive prowess which helped him rack up an 11-fight winning streak. However, he couldn’t perform at his best at UFC 280, losing the lightweight title to Islam Makhachev via an arm-triangle submission. It was quite obvious that people will bombard him with questions regarding his last fight as he gears up for his next battle.

Charles Oliveira opens up about his loss to Islam Makhachev

UFC 280 was held at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, UAE. That part of the world consists of fans who hail Khabib Numargomedov and his team as favorites, including Islam Makhachev. A reporter asked Charles Oliveira if there were any outside factors, or if fighting in Abu Dhabi affected him during his fight against the reigning lightweight champion. ‘Do Bronx’ replied, in all honesty, that he had no idea what transpired at UFC 280. Oliveira said, “All truthfully, I don’t know. I have tried to find the reason behind it or something that happened.”

Although Oliveira couldn’t find any reason for his loss, he didn’t fail to mention that Islam Makhachev was the better fighter that night. He added, “I don’t know. He was better than me because he was there, he fought, I didn’t.”

‘Do Bronx’ wasn’t being himself in his last fight

In an earlier appearance during the UFC media day, Charles Oliveira mentioned that he wasn’t being his usual self during the fight against Islam Makhachev. Furthermore, his dominant offensive style didn’t make much of an impact against the Dagestani native. Oliveira revealed his mindset during UFC 280 and claimed to have never watched the fight during his time away from the octagon.

He also assured the fans that the Charles Oliveira they are going to witness against Beneil Dariush is significantly different than the one who lost last time out. Moreover, he claimed to be a “lion who is always hunting.”

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Charles Oliveira is gunning for the championship once again and believes that the winner of the UFC 289 co-main event will go on to fight for the title. However, Beneil Dariush is looking to make the most of his first title shot, which he earned after almost a decade of fighting under the UFC banner.

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