Charles Oliveira and Islam Makhachev got a first glimpse of one another on Tuesday before their headline title bout at UFC 280 in Abu Dhabi this weekend.
The lightweight rivals, who top the bill at Etihad Arena on Saturday night in an encounter for the vacant belt, crossed paths in the athlete hotel on Yas Island, as Makhachev checked in for fight week.
Oliveira, the division’s most recent champion, has been training in Abu Dhabi since early last week. The Brazilian, who celebrated his 33rd birthday on Monday, rides an 11-fight win streak.
Makhachev, meanwhile, comes into his first title bout on the back of 10 consecutive victories in the UFC.
A video on Tuesday showed Makhachev and team arriving in the capital – they have been training for the past five weeks in Dubai – where they passed Oliveira and his team in the hotel reception.
A number of fighters on the UFC 280 card were at the hotel on Tuesday, with bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling pictured signing the official fight posters. The American, who was dressed in kandura, defends his belt against former champion TJ Dillashaw in the night’s penultimate clash.
The hugely popular Sean O’Malley, who takes on Petr Yan in another high-profile bout, was pictured also on Tuesday sporting a kandura alongside Belal Muhammad. Muhammad, the No 5-ranked contender at welterweight, goes up against the unbeaten No 8-ranked Sean Brady.
