UFC 280 LIVE results: Islam Makhachev submits Charles Oliveira to win lightweight title
Follow live reaction as Makhachev claims the vacant lightweight title with a second-round win over former champion Oliveira
Islam Makhachev submitted Charles Oliveira in the UFC 280 main event on Saturday to win the vacant lightweight title, following in the footsteps of his childhood friend Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Khabib retired unbeaten in 2020, vacating the UFC lightweight strap immediately after retaining it in Abu Dhabi. And it was there that Makhachev won the same belt – almost two years later to the day – submitting Khabib’s literal successor Oliveira to become his fellow Russian’s spiritual successor in the Octagon. Last May, Oliveira won the title vacated by Khabib, and the Brazilian went on to retain it in December. One day before his own scheduled defence against Gaethje this May, however, Oliveira was stripped of the belt after missing weight. Oliveira would submit Gaethje anyway to establish himself as No 1 contender and set up a clash with Makhachev.
That highly-anticipated in-ring meeting played out at the Etihad Arena on Saturday, and it was Makhachev, 31, who came out on top, submitting 33-year-old Oliveira with an arm-triangle choke in Round 2 to win the vacant title. In the co-main event, TJ Dillashaw attempted to battle through a dislocated shoulder in his bantamweight title fight with Aljamain Sterling, but the former champion was largely ineffective and ultimately fell to a second-round TKO loss, as Sterling retained the belt. In the evening’s previous fight, rising 135lbs star Sean O’Malley won a controversial decision against former bantamweight champion Petr Yan. Follow live reaction from UFC 280 below.
UFC 280 LIVE
Muradov vs Borralho – Round 1
Muradov nearly gets free in a scramble, but Borralho tries to catch him with an armbar...
Muradov escapes, though, and ends up in full guard. He’s been warned numerous times to watch his fingers, the referee worried about an eye poke on Borralho.
UFC 280 LIVE
Muradov vs Borralho – Round 1
Borralho just mimsses with a head kick from southpaw.
Muradov clips the Brazilian with a hard right overhand.
There’s a frantic spell of striking, before Borralho takes down Muradov and moves into half-guard.
UFC 280 LIVE
Next up, it’s Makhmud Muradov vs Caio Borralho at middleweight.
UFC 280 LIVE
Nikita Krylov def. Volkan Oezdemir via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28).
UFC 280 LIVE
Oezdemir vs Krylov – Round 3
Krylov is back in Oezdemir’s full guard and trying to be more active this time.
He ends the round and fight on top!
We’ll see how the judges score this, but they will surely favour Krylov.
UFC 280 LIVE
Oezdemir vs Krylov – Round 3
Krylov links together some hooks and follows them with a head kick, which Oezdemir blocks.
Krylov then switches it up again and takes down Oezdemir against the cage wall.
The Ukrainian is in Oezdemir’s full guard, but referee Marc Goddard warns the light heavyweights and ultimately stands them up for a lack of action.
Oezdemir has to go for it now, but he looks lethargic. Krylov mixes it up nicely, landing a knee to the body then hooks to the head before taking down the former title challenger.
UFC 280 LIVE
Ahead of the third round, Oezdemir’s corner tells him: “It’s 1-1. You’ve just got to decide if you want to win now.”
UFC 280 LIVE
Oezdemir vs Krylov – Round 2
“Nikita” is the chant in the Etihad Arena as the Ukrainian gets his fifth takedown from 15 attempts today.
He’s in Oezdemir’s full guard, alternating between trying to advance the position and throwing punches.
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