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#2. Brian Ortega vs. Islam Machkhachev
If Brian Ortega were to pick up a big win at lightweight, a bout with Islam Makhachev would make sense. Makhachev has drawn many comparisons to his teammate and coach Khabib Nurmagomedov with his excellent grappling. Like Nurmagomedov, Makhachev smothers his opponents on the ground and has cruised to unanimous decision victories. What separates Makhachev from Nurmagomedov is that he seems to be a lot more comfortable with his striking.
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Makhachev is currently on an 8 fight winning streak that has seen him climb the lightweight rankings. This year has been significant as Makhachev has remained successful against tougher competition. Makhachev's victories this year were both by submission against Drew Dober and Thiago Moises.
It would be interesting to see how Ortega's grappling fares against Makhachev as that's where the fight would most likely be decided.
#1. Brian Ortega vs. Charles Oliveira
Topping this list of possible opponents for Brian Ortega at lightweight is current UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira. If Ortega were to pick up a few wins at lightweight, the best possible matchup for him would be Oliveira. With both Ortega and Oliveira being exceptional Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioners, the bout would be very intriguing.
Current champion Oliveira is currently on a 12 fight win streak that includes wins over Kevin Lee, Tony Ferguson and Michael Chandler. What made Oliveira's title win over Chandler impressive was that he won the fight by TKO.
In the leadup to the fight, Chandler's path to victory would be striking in the stand-up. That's exactly what ended up happening as he managed to stun Oliveira in the first round. However, Oliveira regrouped and defeated Chandler by TKO just 19 seconds into the second round.
Oliveira continues to cement his legacy in the sport. Oliveira's records include most submission wins in UFC history, most finishes in UFC history and most Performance of the Night awards.
