Significant Stats | UFC 280: Oliveira vs Makhachev

Key Stats: 19 finishes (1st all-time), 16 submissions (1st all-time), 6:00 average fight time (5th shortest all-time among LW)

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What It Means: “Do Bronx” is the definition of lethal. The Brazilian is an absolute wizard on the ground. If he gets a hold of an opponent, he often throws a variety of submissions at him, and the threat of his jiu jitsu is such that he can often get big reactions out of his foe when he goes to clinch. He takes advantage of this with a great Muay Thai clinch game, throwing elbows and knees, particularly knees to the body. He has great technical striking at distance, too, showing natural power and technique on the feet. Oliveira can truly end the fight from any position, and his ability to build back from adversity has really turned him into the best lightweight in the world at present.

Islam Makhachev

Key Stats: 0.84 strikes absorbed per minute (1st all-time), 66.7% takedown accuracy (1st all-time among LW), 46.1% top position percentage (4th all-time among LW)

What It Means: Makhachev, much like his mentor Khabib Nurmagomedov, is a vicious sambo wrestler. While he isn’t quite as explosive as “The Eagle,” Makhachev has a similar tenacity and strength when he is cinched up to his opponent on the fence and ground. He has a good jab and sits well on a right hand, but his striking definitely opens up shots to the leg. We haven’t seen much of Makhachev on his back but, on top, he is suffocating.

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What to Look For in the Fight: This is as intriguing of a matchup as you can get. Few have been able to thwart Makhachev’s exhaustive wrestling but engaging on the mat with Oliveira is often ill-advised. Whether Makhachev can crowd Oliveira on the ground enough to stop his submission attempts is a huge factor to the ground game. Oliveira has the clear advantage on the feet. His power and technique is superior, but he often can throw without worry of his opponent going for a takedown. That’s not the case with Makhachev. Oliveira’s wrestling has improved greatly, as well, so he won’t just rely on playing off his back. He can take top control for himself, as well.

Co-Main Event: Aljamain Sterling vs TJ Dillashaw

Aljamain Sterling

Key Stats: +2.23 striking differential (4th all-time among BW), 1.71 takedowns per 15 minutes, 21% takedown accuracy

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What It Means: Sterling fights with a great tempo off the bat, and he has shown the gas tank to really press the issue for five rounds. His striking is high volume and diverse, with particularly good low and body kicks from either stance. He has a good jab, as well, which often helps to disguise his shots. While the stats show he isn’t a dominant wrestler, per se, his chain wrestling and transitions – especially to his opponent’s back – are what make the “Funk Master” great. His self-given moniker of “The Human Backpack” is accurate as he is nearly impossible to shake off once he takes the back.

TJ Dillashaw

Key Stats: 8 finishes (2nd all-time among BW), 5 title fight wins (1st all-time among BW), 86.5% takedown defense (6th all-time among BW)

What It Means: Dillashaw is such a shifty fighter out of both stances. He has fought a bit more out of a southpaw stance of late, but his ability to switch makes him a puzzle of movement for his opponent to solve. He is really intelligent about the way he feints punches and kicks to set up bigger shots, and he has great explosiveness once he sits on a striker. On the ground, he has some pretty good timing when it comes to takedowns, and he hustles well when he needs to scramble and transition.

UFC 280 EMBEDDED: Episode 1 | Episode 2 | Episode 3 | Episode 4

What to Look For in the Fight: Sterling sets the pace early in each of his fights, so how Dillashaw goes about adapting to that pressure early is key, whether it comes from his own offensive wrestling or intelligent footwork. History leans toward Dillashaw in terms of power and finishing ability on the feet, but Sterling’s low kicks have made previously mobile opponents sitting ducks for his grappling. Sterling’s long limbs and strength make him a suffocating presence, so Dillashaw will need to earn Sterling’s respect early to alleviate that pressure off the bat. They both switch stances often on the feet, so that’s an aspect of the chess match to watch closely.

Petr Yan vs Sean O’Malley

Petr Yan

Key Stats: 10 knockdowns landed (tied 1st all-time among BW), 61.5% takedown accuracy (3rd all-time among BW), 53.2% significant strike accuracy (6th all-time among BW)

UFC 280 COUNTDOWN: Full Episode | Oliveira vs Makhachev | Sterling vs Dillashaw | Yan vs O'Malley

What It Means: Yan is perhaps the most malicious fighter on the roster, appearing to take a particular amount of joy in breaking his opponent down over the course of a fight. He often likes to make reads early in a fight to the point of potentially giving away the first round, but his power and ability to adapt within a matchup makes him lethal. His boxing is fundamentally beautiful both offensively and defensively, and when he finally launches a cross, it usually comes with devastating effect. He does have good kicks, but his footwork is his best weapon to break his opponent’s rhythm. “No Mercy” also is a crafty grappler and likes to switch the tempo of the fight with takedowns and trips.

Sean O’Malley

Key Stats: 7.83 strikes landed per minute (2nd all-time), +4.49 striking differential (3rd all-time), 62.4% significant strike accuracy (5th all-time)

What It Means: The Sugar Show was best described by UFC.com scribe E. Spencer Kyte as a “technicolor striker,” a nod to both his diverse striking prowess and colorful self-presentation. All the hype is warranted to this point, however, as O’Malley has more often than not delivered beautifully entertaining displays of striking. His distance management is sharp, as is the creativity with which he sets up his bigger moves. His long-range weapons set the tempo, whether he is moving forward or back, and he has shown great vision defensively, as well. He often doesn’t need to load up to rock opponents, and his speed and volume can break more durable opponents down. We haven’t seen much of his grappling, but he is much more confident in his jiu jitsu at this point of his career.

WATCH: Sean O'Malley's Greatest Hits

What to Look For in the Fight: The tempo and distance this matchup is fought at is going to tell plenty in terms of the striking battle. O’Malley and Yan are both patient, but they unload combinations once they get their timing. Yan is usually in perpetual forward motion, but O’Malley is supremely comfortable moving laterally, countering and prodding with long strikes. “No Mercy” is methodical in the way he adjusts and finds a home for his powerful strikes, and history says he has a clear grappling advantage, so that could be a wrinkle to the matchup, as well, as he tries to get past O’Malley’s long limbs.

Katlyn Chookagian vs Manon Fiorot

Katlyn Chookagian

Key Stats: 9 wins (tied 1st all-time among WFLY), 62.6% significant strike defense (6th all-time among WFLY), 0.28 takedowns per 15 minutes

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What It Means: Chookagian is a highly technical striker with a respectable wrestling and jiu jitsu game that makes her a great puzzle for any hopeful contender to solve. She completely understands the range at which she is most impactful and has the footwork to keep the fight there, which often frustrates her opponent. More often than not, she dictates the terms of engagement on the feet, leaving her foes a step behind whether she is pressuring or skirting on the outside. She has shown an ability to maul inferior grapplers, as well.

*Manon Fiorot

Key Stats: 6.6 strikes landed per minute,  1.91 takedowns per 15 minutes, 83% takedown defense

What It Means: Fiorot is an excellent and ferocious French kickboxer. She loves using a front-leg side kick from distance to close the range, as well as keep her opponents at bay and off rhythm. Her blitzes are explosive, and if she can back her foe up to the fence, she swarms with high-volume and power that can overwhelm opponents. She is also physically strong, and she utilizes that strength in clinches when she reverses position along the Octagon and finds her own success grappling.

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What to Look For in the Fight: For the better part of the division’s existence, Chookagian has proven a stonewall for hopeful contenders. Fiorot is gifted physically with good karate-based striking, but she’ll need to have patience in breaking down Chookagian, who has a good sense of when to mix things up and grapple.

*Manon Fiorot hasn’t competed enough in weight class to qualify in UFC Record Book