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
Arguably the most stacked fight card of the year has arrived, as UFC 280 plays out in Abu Dhabi today.
The main event sees the lightweight title up for grabs, with Charles Oliveira out to regain the belt he was stripped of earlier this year as he takes on Islam Makhachev. Oliveira won the gold at 155lbs last May, claiming the title vacated by a retired Khabib Nurmagomedov, and the Brazilian went on to retain it in December before missing weight this May – one day before a scheduled defence against Justin Gaethje. That weight-miss saw Oliveira, 33, stripped of the belt, but he submitted Gaethje one day later to establish himself as No1 contender – while extending his records for most finishes and most submissions in UFC history. Meanwhile, 31-year-old Makhachev has long been seen by many as champion in waiting, and he will have Khabib – his childhood friend and now coach – in his corner at the Etihad Arena.
In the co-main event, Aljamain Sterling defends the bantamweight title against former two-time champion TJ Dillashaw, who last summer returned to the Octagon after serving a two-year, drugs-related ban. Prior to that contest, another ex-bantamweight champion, Petr Yan, faces rising star Sean O’Malley.
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