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The UFC's vacant lightweight title will be up for grabs on Oct. 22 in Abu Dhabi.
Promotion officials announced during Saturday's UFC on ABC 3 broadcast that former champ Charles Oliveira and current No. 4-ranked contender Islam Makhachev will compete for the belt at UFC 280, which takes place on that date at Etihad Arena.
The booking was revealed immediately after UFC broadcaster Megan Olivi revealed Oliveira had been awarded this year's ESPY Award for "MMA Fighter of the Year."
Oliveira (33-8 MMA, 20-8 UFC) brings an 11-fight winning streak into the matchup. "Do Bronx" is currently ranked as the No. 1 contender in the division, though he is widely regarded as the uncrowned champion at 155 pounds after being stripped of the belt following an odd weight miss ahead of May's UFC 274 event. Oliveira would go on to score a first-round submission win over Justin Gaethje the following night but was not eligible to walk away with the title.
Oliveira originally claimed the title with a May 2021 TKO win over Michael Chandler before successfully defending it once with a December 2021 submission of Dustin Poirier.
Meanwhile, Mackhachev (22-1 MMA, 11-1 UFC) also brings an incredible 11-fight winning streak into his first UFC title shot. A protege of UFC Hall of Famer Khabib Nurmagomedov, Makhachev hasn't tasted defeat since 2015, most recently scoring a first-round submission win over Bobby Green, after which he began calling for a fight with Oliveira.
