'He's going to ride him like you ride your horse': Former champion Khabib Nurmagomedov claims Charles Oliveira doesn't have good 'ground game' and Islam Makhachev will punish him at UFC 280
- Charles Oliveira and Islam Makhachev will lock horns at UFC 280 this weekend
- Khabib Nurmagomedov says Oliveira's lack of 'ground game' will cost him
- He believes Makhachev will win and is going to 'ride him' like a horse
- Oliveira has lost by submission only three times in his 12-year UFC career
Former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov believes Charles Oliveira will not fare well against Islam Makhachev this weekend.
Oliveira and Makhachev are set to lock horns when they meet at UFC 280 on Saturday night at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi for the vacant lightweight title.
Nurmagomedov will be in Makhachev's corner and has already predicted how the intriguing matchup will pan out.
![Khabib Nurmagomedov has backed Islam to win at UFC 280](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/10/18/17/63603107-0-image-m-4_1666112357696.jpg)
![The former champion says Oliveira is not good on the ground](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/10/18/17/63603109-0-image-m-5_1666112367115.jpg)
Charles Oliveira (right) and Islam Makhachev will lock horns when they meet at UFC 280
![Khabib believes Makhachev's skills are underrated despite him being favourite to win](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/10/18/18/63603755-0-image-a-6_1666113665022.jpg)
Former champion Khabib Nurmagomedov says Oliveira's lack of 'ground game' will cost him
He says Oliveira's lack of 'ground game' will be the downfall and his team-mate will come out on top, insisting previous fights prove his point.
'This is what Islam is gonna do with Charles Oliveira: he's gonna ride him, how you ride your horse. Save this video because a lot of people underestimate Islam,' Nurmagomedov saidin a recent video.
'They think Charles Oliveira has a ground game. He doesn't have a ground game. If you tap eight times in UFC, how can you say you have a ground game? You tapped eight times.'
Oliveira has been defeated eight times throughout his 12-year UFC career, but only three of those have come via submission.
![Oliveira has fought all-comers and feels Makhachev has had an easy ride](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/10/18/18/63603759-0-image-a-7_1666113684321.jpg)
Oliveira has however lost by submission only three times in his 12-year UFC career
His last submission loss came in November 2016 against Anthony Pettis, with the other two coming against Jim Miller kneebar in 2010 and in 2016 again in the hands of Ricardo Lamas.
Since his last submission defeat, Oliviera has submitted eight different opponents, including his last two, Justin Gaethje and Dustin Poirier.
Meanwhile, Makhachev has lost just one of his 23 bouts and that came against Adriano Martins by knockout in 2015.
Similar to Oliveira, three of his last four victories have come by submission, against Drew Dober, Thiago Moises and Dan Hooker.
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