Before he lost his title to Islam Makhachev at UFC 280, Charles Oliveira was on his way to becoming the greatest lightweight of all time. After all, the Brazilian was on an eleven-fight tear and had slayed a barrage of former champions. This was until Makhachev absolutely dominated him and submitted him in the second round three years ago.

But fan-favorite UFC analyst Chael Sonnen feels that Oliveira, prior to losing the title, was inching closer to perhaps eclipsing even the greatest 155-pounder of all time- Khabib Nurmagomedov.

“Charles Oliver fought both of those guys [Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje], Khabib had fought both of those guys. Khabib finished both guys, Charles finished both guys. But Charles finished them and I can’t remember off the top of my head, but it was like a minute and four seconds faster collectively-  the time that they spent out there,” Sonnen said on his official YouTube channel.

Indeed, Gaethje and Poirier were the best opponents on Nurmagomedov’s resume when he retired in 2020, and Oliveira beat them in around fourteen minutes collectively, while ‘The Eagle’s total fight time against them was over eighteen minutes. If one focuses on that fact alone (as Sonnen does) one could well say that Oliveira was comparable, or perhaps even better than Nurmagomedov.

“And it was also very problematic for Team Khabib but it was problematic only because they were in the same era. It wasn’t two different eras… They were the same time Oliveira was ranked four and Khabib was number one… Charles Olivera’s success and his continuous victories, they started away on Khabib’s legacy and maybe not enough to put Charles over. But I’m just reminding you guys it started to weigh on Khabib’s legacy,” Sonnen added.

There are plenty of what-if matchups in the history of combat sports where fighters from different eras are pitted against each other in hypothetical matchups (like Muhammad Ali vs. Mike Tyson or Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Georges-St Pierre), which ultimately are unanswerable.

However, with the common denominator of Poirier and Gaethje, Sonnen thinks that the Oliveira-Nurmagomedov debate made eminent sense since they both fought in the same era. In the end, Makhachev’s one-sided victory over Oliveira ended that debate entirely, but there is a chance that ‘Do Bronx’ might regain his rightful place in history by the end of this year.

Charles Oliveira next in line if Makhachev beats Tsarukyan

Islam Makhachev and Arman Tsarukyan will fight for the vaunted UFC lightweight title at UFC 311 this Saturday. If the Dagestani wins, a long-awaited rematch between him and Oliveira will probably be next. After all, there are no clear title contenders, other than Oliveira, in the division at the moment.

And that rematch is likely to be the most important fight of the Brazilian’s career. After all, if he can beat Makhachev, he would have a claim to being the best of his generation. But if he loses again, there would be no doubt Makhachev is the better fighter. At the moment, Oliviera still has a chance at getting into the lightweight GOAT debate.

Oliveira already holds the record for most finishes in UFC history at 20 and has way overshot expectations since he had a very forgettable stint in his early UFC days. Of his first nine fights in the promotion against relatively ordinary competition, ‘Do Bronx’ managed to win only four, which isn’t exactly what one expects from a future champion.

But through sheer strength of will and hard work, the Brazilian made himself an all-time great. What better way for Oliveira to redeem himself than to defeat the most dominant fighter in the division? Otherwise, ‘Do Bronx’ will just be a footnote in Islam Makhachev’s story. What do you think about Chael Sonnen’s take on Charles Oliveira and Khabib Nurmagomedov’s legacy?