This coming Saturday, the United Arab Emirates will play home to a major UFC 280 night of MMA. The event will feature two title fights and will take place at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. It is set to start on October 22 at 7 p.m. local time.
Former lightweight champion Charles Oliveira and emerging contender Islam Makhachev will fight for the vacant belt in the main event of the evening. A bantamweight title fight between the current champion Aljamain Sterling and the two-time former champion TJ Dillashaw will feature as the co-main event.
The 32-year-old Oliveira continued his winning streak by defeating his next 11 opponents, knocking out 10 of them. He defeated Michael Chandler via technical knockout in the second round at UFC 262 in May 2021 to claim the vacant UFC lightweight title.
Following him in the lightweight division is Islam Makhachev. Since making his professional debut in 2010, the former World Sambo champion has been undefeated, except for a single loss in 2015, during only his second appearance in the UFC. The 30-year-old Russian fighter has a lengthy winning run of his own, which currently stands at 10.
| Fighter | #weight | Fighter |
|---|---|---|
| # | Nickname | # |
| 14-3-0 | Record | 10-0-0 |
| 6′ 4″ | Height | 6′ 4″ |
| 261 lbs | Weight | 260 lbs |
| 83″ | Reach | 78″ |
| # | Team | # |
| United States | Country | United States |
UFC 279 Fight Card: Oliveira vs. Makhachev Start Time
- Date: Saturday, October 22
- Main card: 7 p.m. BST / 2 p.m. ET
- Main event (approx): 10 p.m. BST / 5 p.m. ET
Main card
- MAIN EVENT: Charles Oliveira vs. Islam Makhachev; Lightweight Championship
- Aljamain Sterling vs. TJ Dillashaw; Bantamweight Championship
- Petr Yan vs. Sean O’Malley; Bantamweight
- Beneil Dariush vs. Mateusz Gamrot; Lightweight
- Katlyn Chookagian vs. Manon Fiorot; Women’s Flyweight
Prelims
- Belal Muhammad vs. Sean Brady; Welterweight
- Makhmud Muradov vs. Caio Borralho; Middleweight
- Nikita Krylov vs. Volkan Oezdemir; Light heavyweight
- Zubaira Tukhugov vs. Lucas Almeida; Featherweight
- Magomed Mustafaev vs. Yamato Nishikawa; Lightweight
- Abubakar Nurmagomedov vs. Gadzhi Omargadzhiev; Welterweight
- Armen Petrosyan vs. A.J. Dobson; Middleweight
- Muhammad Mokaev vs. Malcolm Gordon; Flyweight
- Karol Rosa vs. Lina Lansberg; Women’s bantamweight
Oliveira vs. Makhachev Live Stream and TV Channel
The bout will be shown to fans in the United States via ESPN+ PPV, while those in the United Kingdom may watch it on BT Sport Box Office.
