Charles Oliveira now has “perfect vision” set on the UFC Lightweight title, both figuratively and literally.
The former 155-pound champ, who was stripped off from the title before UFC 274, is aiming to reclaim the vacant belt as he takes on Islam Makhachev this Saturday night at UFC 280 at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.
‘Do Bronx’ is carrying a remarkable 11-fight win streak into the Makhachev fight, which even includes his UFC 274 clash against Justin Gaethje and what made it more impressive is that, Oliveira has poor eyesight and wears glasses off the Octagon, making his feat even more impressive.
After his submission win over Dustin Poirier at UFC 269 in December last year, Oliveira revealed to Flow podcast on how he used to manage fighting opponents while being nearly blind.
“I see three [faces]. If I hit the middle one, that’s fine,” said Oliveira at the time, “I think keep this same technique. Three guys for me, is perfect. If I hit the one in the middle, it’s good. I’ll tell you the truth, I’m a guy who has a lot of faith in God and it’s no joke. If I take my glasses off, I only see 50 per cent but it never hindered me in a fight.”
Charles Oliveira plans to KO Makhachev In Round 1
All that being said, Oliveira has now undergone eye surgery, making his vision perfect to the T, and will now see only one Makhachev in the cage, who he plans to put to sleep within the first round itself.
“I had the surgery, and my eyes are 100 percent perfect,” Oliveira revealed to SI while speaking through a translator, “I can see everything now. I’m going to knock Islam out in the first round. Then we’re going to celebrate.”
“To beat Islam, I need to be myself,” Oliveira concluded, “I am going to give my best performance, and I will take my belt back.”
UFC 280 Full Fight Card:
Main Card
- Charles Oliveira vs. Islam Makhachev – UFC Lightweight Championship
- Aljamain Sterling vs. TJ Dillashaw
- Petr Yan vs. Sean O’Malley
- Beneil Dariush vs. Mateusz Gamrot
- Katlyn Chookagian vs. Manon Fiorot
Prelims
- Belal Muhammad vs. Sean Brady
- Makhmud Muradov vs. Caio Borralho
- Volkan Oezdemir vs. Nikita Krylov
- Zubaira Tukhugov vs. Lucas Almeida
- Abubakar Nurmagomedov vs. Gadzhi Omargadzhiev
- Armen Petrosyan vs. AJ Dobson
- Muhammad Mokaev vs. Malcolm Gordon
- Karol Rosa vs. Lina Lansberg
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