UFC will get a new lightweight champion when Charles Oliveira and Islam Makhachev duke it out for the title at UFC 280.
The fight will take place on Oct. 22 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, the promotion announced Saturday.
Makhachev, the grappler from Dagestan had been calling for a title fight after recording impressive wins since making his debut in the UFC.
Oliveira, meanwhile, is the division’s most recent champion having defeated Michael Chandler for the belt at UFC 262. He was stripped of the title ahead of what was to be his second defense against Justin Gaethje in May after missing weight by 0.5 pounds leaving the title vacant once again.
The Brazilian did go on to submit Gaethje in the first round to cement himself as the No. 1 contender and earn an opportunity to win the belt back.
Makhachev, the No. 4-ranked contender and a protege of UFC Hall-of-Famer Khabib Nurmagomedov, will finally get a crack at UFC gold after winning 10 fights in a row.
The Russian grappler is coming off a TKO win over Bobby Green in February and holds a 22-1 career record.
Makhachev and Oliveira have been jawing at each other for a while now and get a chance to settle their feud in the UFC octagon.
UFC 280 will also feature a welterweight tilt between surging contenders Belal Muhammad and Sean Brady.
