The UFC returns to Fight Island in Abu Dhabi for a card that features two title fights amongst a slew of high-level scraps from top to bottom. In the co-main event, bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling will defend his belt against the former champion TJ Dillashaw. In the main event, we will finally get an official champion in the lightweight division as the former title holder Charles Oliveira will look to reclaim the belt he was stripped of after missing weight at UFC 274 as he takes on a top contender and Khabib protégé Islam Makhachev.
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UFC 280: Oliveira vs. Makhachev
Date: Saturday, October 22, 2022
Time: 2 p.m. ET
Location: Etihad Arena, Yas Island
Prelims (10 a.m. ET)
Karol Rosa (-335) vs. Lina Lansberg (+260)
Muhammed Mokaev (-1205) vs. Malcolm Gordon (+750)
Armen Petrosyan (-215) vs. AJ Dobson (+175)
Abubakar Nurmagomedov (-175) vs. Gadzhi Omargadzhiev (+145)
Volkan Oezdemir (+155) vs. Nikita Kyrlov (-190)
Makhmud Muradov (+175) vs. Caio Borralho (-215)
Belal Muhammad (+115) vs. Sean Brady (-140)
Main Card (2 p.m. ET)
Katlyn Chookagian (+175) vs. Manon Fiorot (-215)
Beneil Dariush (+155) vs. Mateusz Gamrot (-190)
Petr Yan (-275) vs. Sean O’Malley (+225)
Aljamain Sterling (-170) vs. TJ Dillashaw (+140)
Charles Oliveira (+145) vs. Islam Makhachev (-175)
SI Producer Doug Vazquez:
The disgraced former champion TJ Dillashaw looks like and says he is in the best shape of his career, but after being busted using PEDs, questions will always surround the legitimacy of his physique and cardio. That said, as much as I hate to admit it, I see him winning this fight against Aljo and becoming champion again. Dillashaw will prove to be too much for Sterling if he can keep the fight standing up and chip away at Aljo with his superior and powerful striking. I don’t think he does quick work, but he will eventually do enough to find an opening and get a KO.
BET: Dillashaw via KO +450
SI MMA Writer Justin Barrasso:
Charles Oliveira is the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world. And he’ll prove that at 280 against Islam Makhachev.
Oliveira is, again, the underdog. And Makhachev is running through opponents. Yet he has never defeated anyone with Oliveira’s elite grappling or power. The belt returns to Brazil, with Oliveira carrying it around his weight.
BET: Oliveira via SUB +275
SI Video’s Julian Pinto
I’m paying very close attention to the first bout on the main card. The Katlyn Chookagian-Manon Fiorot match has huge title implications as Fiorot is on a 4-fight winning streak in the UFC, and she is in a division that is not very deep. I like Fiorot by decision in this contest. Her karate background makes her one of the more dynamic strikers in the division, and in a matchup where both fighters like to strike, I think Fiorot will establish her striking distance with her lead leg side kicks and pick apart Chookagian for the majority of the bout.
BET: Fiorot via DEC -110
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