Charles Oliveira or Khabib Nurmagomedov is a question UFC fans constantly ask themselves and they like to speculate how a fight between the two would go down if they ever stepped foot in the Octagon together.
Recently a simulation was done of the fight, with the Russian coming out on top despite some impressive early striking from Oliveira. In the second round, it didn’t take Khabib long to get the win, forcing the Brazilian to tap out in the simulation.
Unquestionably two of the greats of the UFC, fans of both fighters love to compare and try to prove that their chosen fighter is the better.
However, we will never get to see them battle it out in the Octagon with Khabib retiring from the sport in 2021 after fighting his way to an impressive, undefeated 29-0 record.
He certainly went the tough way about his career, fighting some of the best around including the likes of Conor McGregor, Dustin Poirier and Rafael dos Anjos.
On the other hand, Oliveira is 33-8 in his UFC career, including just the one no contest and has also held the lightweight title in the UFC.
Ironically, when Khabib retired and vacated his title, it was Oliveira who occupied it next after a main event victory over Michael Chandler at UFC 262.
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Unfortunately for Oliveira, he had to vacate his title before his most recent clash at UFC 274 where he was headlining once again, but this time against Justin Gaethje.
Oliveira was forced to vacate his belt without throwing a punch after he missed his weight for the fight, what a shocking and frustrating way to lose your title.
Adding insult to injury, Oliveira was victorious against Gaethje, meaning that he would have remained the lightweight champion should he have made weight.
He’ll step into the Octagon again this year, taking on Islam Makhachev at UFC 280 on October 22 as he looks to make his way to the top again.
A fan has compiled a video to compare Khabib and Oliveira, although it’s just them pedalling their opinion that Khabib is better, it’s an interesting comparison.
Khabib was the master of defence and getting his opponents to submit by dominating them on the ground and showing us all his skill.
In comparison, Oliveira, whilst still capable on the floor, is much more of a striker than Khabib was, so comparisons aren’t the easiest to make with different styles, but we do know in terms of records Khabib’s is superior.
To go undefeated whilst taking on the calibre of opponents he did in the Octagon shows us just how dominant he was in the lightweight division and is more than worthy to be considered in any GOAT discussion.