2 days Ago By Adarsh Ojha
Charles Oliveira believes the UFC may never see another ‘golden generation’ in the lightweight division like the one packed with stars like Conor McGregor, Dustin Poirier, Khabib Nurmagomedov, and himself. According to Oliveira , the talent and impact of these lightweights were unmatched, and recreating this level of competition and star power in the future may be a tall order for the UFC. However, Oliveira might have overlooked another legend who’s just joined the division.
After his recent loss to Ilia Topuria, former featherweight champion Max Holloway has stated that he would be moving up a weight class to try and chase down UFC gold at 155 pounds. Holloway doesn’t want to keep cutting weight to get to 145 lbs and feels that there are some great challenges at lightweight waiting for him. Holloway’s ultimate goal would be to fight for the lightweight title he had once held.
And that might not be a tall ladder to climb since the champion, Islam Makachev has pretty much run through the Top 5 in the division. The Dagestani’s biggest test, however, might just be a couple of months ahead of him. Islam vs.
Arman II Scheduled for Jan. 18 at UFC 311, this will be the Dagestani fighter’s fourth title defense. Tsarukyan has been the toughest opponent Makhachev has faced (except Adriano Martins who KO’d him at UFC 192).
Stylistically, he is quite similar to the lightweight champion, albeit with better striking prowess. Islam, while proving that he has improved his stand-up game with a win over Dustin Poirier at UFC 302 and Alexander Volkanovski before that, still has some distance to go. However, this would be the first time, since he defeated Oliveira for the title that he would be fighting an opponent with well-rounded grappling and wrestling prowess.
Reflecting on the matchup, Oliveira, who has fought both fighters, noted that he was leaning slightly toward Makhachev. Oliveira is currently gearing up for his own rematch against Michael Chandler at UFC 309 on Nov. 16.
.
