Islam Makhachev favors former foe Charles Oliveira in a potential clash against Colby Covington.
Makhachev dethroned Oliveira via Round 2 submission at UFC 280 in October 2022. Oliveira bounced back with a knockout win over Beneil Dariush at UFC 289 to earn a rematch against Makhachev and was once again scheduled to take on the Dagestani phenom at UFC 294 in October 2023, but was forced to withdraw due to a nasty cut suffered in sparring just 11 days before the fight.
Oliveira was replaced on short notice by Alexander Volkanovski, who suffered a head-kick knockout loss against Makhachev, who is now slated to put his title on the line against Dustin Poirier in the UFC 302 main event on June 1.