Charles Oliveira has claimed his UFC 280 title rival Islam Makhachev 'skipped the line' for a shot at the belt and used the influence of Khabib to his advantage.

The Brazilian grafted his way to the top gradually and thinks even though Makhachev has shown how dominant he can be, there should have been more challenges laid in front of him. 

He said: 'I think Islam deserves all the respect in the world. But I think he should've fought somebody maybe in the top-5 like I did, not just surf on someone else's wave and skip the line like he did.

'It's for the history and everything he's done. If it was any other guy, [Makhachev] would have to walk the walk that I had to walk, knocking on people's doors, trying to get to a top-5. 

'The reason why this fight is happening is because of him, that's the real story.'

In terms of the fight itself, Makhachev is a narrow favourite with the bookmakers but the match-up is a fascinating one stylistically. 

Oliveira insists he is content wherever the bout goes: 'I'm ready, I think anyone needs to believe and want whatever is best for them. 

'If we go down to the ground, he's facing the biggest finisher in the history of the UFC. If he wants to stand up, we're gonna stand up. I will shock the world one more time.

'I think they're just talking a lot of crap and whenever we close that gate and we're inside the octagon they get to see who's the real champion. The lightweight champion is Charles Oliveira. I'm the problem for this division.'

While Makhachev may not have faced the quality of opponent Oliveira has fought in his career so far, few could argue against the Russian's claim to a title shot, with or without the influence of Khabib as his coach, mentor and one of the UFC's all-time greats.

He is on a 10-fight winning streak, all of those in the UFC, but the next one is by far the most significant.