UFC president Dana White has praised Charles Oliveira ahead of his UFC 280 title fight against Islam Makhachev.

While he may not be officially recognised as such, Charles Oliveira is widely considered to be the best lightweight on the planet by mixed martial arts fans across the globe. The man known as ‘Do Bronx’ has been on the run of his career over the last few years, knocking off the likes of Kevin Lee, Tony Ferguson, Dustin Poirier and many more.

Later this year at UFC 280, he’ll come face to face with arguably his toughest test yet when he meets Islam Makhachev for the UFC lightweight championship.

During a recent media scrum, Dana White was asked about the negotiation process and what he thinks of the Brazilian as a man and as a fighter.

“Charles Oliveira is one of the greatest kids ever to deal with. He’s an absolute warrior and a stud, and getting him to take fights is never hard. There’s never a hard negotiation. That kid is always ready to fight, he’s one of the best kids that we’ve ever dealt with.”

“This is that fight, Khabib has said for a very long time that Islam Makhachev is the best in the world and that he’s gonna be a world champion - but you gotta get through Charles Oliveira first. You know what I mean? Charles Oliveira is no walkover, this kid is a stud. Technically he’s not the champion, but to all of us he is the champion. I’m very excited for that fight.”

Why isn’t Charles the champion?

As previously noted, Charles Oliveira is not the UFC lightweight champ - and there’s a controversial reason why.

Prior to his UFC 274 main event against Justin Gaethje, Oliveira was judged to have missed weight despite the man himself believing he’d done enough to make 155 pounds.

Because of that, he was stripped of the belt, before going on to submit Justin Gaethje the following night.

The Islam fight is all about taking back what he believes to be his, and it’s safe to say that the masses can’t wait to see what kind of intensity he brings to Fight Island.