Charles Oliveira suffered a gruesome injury in a sparring session which forced the former UFC lightweight champion to withdraw from his bout against Islam Makhachev. Charles and Islam were scheduled to fight for the UFC lightweight title on 21st of October.
This withdrawal of Oliveira from the bout against Islam welcomed huge criticism from the mixed martial arts world. However, the former MMA fighter, Michael Bisping has Charles’s back.
Michael Bisping weighs-in on Charles Oliveira’s UFC 294 withdrawal
In a recent YouTube video on his official YouTube account, Michael shared his opinions on the situation surrounding Charles Oliveira. The former MMA fighter thinks that the Brazilian fighter made the right decision pulling out of the fight.
Bisping understands why Oliveira chose to withdraw, emphasizing that competing with a nasty cut like that on his eyebrow could have cost him in the fight. In his video, Michael said that if it’s a bad cut, 2 or 3 weeks before the fight, a fighter cannot compete like that. He further emphasized that a pro athlete can compete with some minor injuries, but with a huge cut like that, it’s impossible, even for the best.
Bisping added that if Oliveira hadn’t withdrawn from the fight and had fought Islam, the cut would’ve opened up straight away after taking one punch to the face. As a sports analyst and commentator, Bisping’s support for Charles amid the criticism from the MMA world shows that it was the right decision for Oliveira to withdraw from the fight to avoid further injuries.
Alexander Volkanovski to replace Charles Oliveira at UFC 294
However, Alexander Volkanovski saved the day as the fighter agreed to take upon the fight on a short 2 weeks notice. In a recent interview at the Dana White contender series, UFC president revealed that Volkanovski will be fighting Islam instead of Charles.
Dana White Confirms Charles Oliveria is out and Volkanovski is the replacement pic.twitter.com/t1STo3K8v7
— SickydoesMMA (@SICKYDOESMMA) October 11, 2023
In the same interview Dana continued to call Alexander and his team “Studs,” Dana expressed his gratitude to Alexander and his team for taking up the fight without any hesitation at a 2 weeks notice.
Breaking: Islam Makhachev will defend his UFC lightweight title in a rematch against Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 294, UFC announced on Tuesday.
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) October 11, 2023
Charles Oliveira, originally slated for the bout vs. Makhachev, pulled out due to an injury. pic.twitter.com/y7Y2poBf0W
The upcoming bout between Alexander Volkanovski and Islam Makhachev will be their rematch. The pair met earlier this year which resulted in the Australian MMA fighter losing via a unanimous decision. It’ll be Volkanovski’s second shot at the lightweight title and if Alexander wins this bout, he’ll become a double champ.
However the odds are not in favor of the Australian as he has only 2 weeks to prepare for the fight. Volk had plenty of time to prepare in the first fight but still lost via unanimous decision. So it’s very fair that the odds are not favoring Volkanovski.
Tell us in the comments your thoughts on the withdrawal of Charles Oliveira from UFC 294. Do you think it was right for Oliveira to withdraw or the Brazilian would’ve managed it with the cut?
