Charles Oliveira and Islam Makhachev go nose-to-nose in tense final face-off for UFC 280

Lightweight contenders headline at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi on Saturday night for division's vacant belt

Charles Oliveira and Islam Makhachev at the ceremonial weigh in before their lightweight title fight at UFC 280 in Abu Dhabi. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Charles Oliveira at the ceremonial weigh in before his title fight with Islam Makhachev at UFC 280. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Charles Oliveira weighs in before his lightweight title fight at UFC 280 in Abu Dhabi against Islam Makhachev. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Islam Makhachev weighs in before his lightweight title fight at UFC 280 against Charles Oliveira in Abu Dhabi. Both fighters weighed an identical 154.5lbs. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Brazil's Charles Oliveira points to the sky at the official weigh-in for UFC 280. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Dagestan fight Islam Makhachev weighs in at UFC 280. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Alexnder Volkanovski weighs in as the back up for the main event at UFC 280 in Abu Dhabi. Chris Whiteoak / The National

UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling roars after making weight fr his championship fight against TJ Dillashaw at UFC 280 in Abu Dhabi. Chris Whiteoak / The National

TJ Dillashaw weighed in at 135lbs for his title fight against Aljamain Sterling in Abu Dhabi. Chris Whiteoak / The National

UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling weighs in at 135lbs. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Sean O'Malley weighed in at 135.5lbs at the official weigh-in for his bantamweight contest against Petr Jan at UFC 280. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Petr Yan tipped the scales at 136lbs. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Sean O'Malley poses on the scales.

Caio Borralho weighs in before his fight at UFC 280 against Makhmud Muradov. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Belal Muhammad weighs in at 170lbs ahead of his bout against Sean Brady. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Manon Fiorot weighs in before her fight at UFC 280 against Katlyn Chookagian in Abu Dhabi. Fiorot weighed in at 125.5lbs. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Muhammad Mokaev weighs in before his fight against Malcolm Gordon at UFC 280 in Abu Dhabi. Mokaev weighed in at 126lbs. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Gadzhi Omargadzhiev weighs in at 171lbs for his fight at UFC 280 against Abubakar Nurmagomedov. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Mateusz Gamrot weighs in before his fight against Beneil Dariush at UFC 280 in Abu Dhabi. Gamrot tipped the scales at 156lbs. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Nikita Krylov weighs in before his fight at UFC 280 against Volkan Oezdemir in Abu Dhabi. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Charles Oliveira and Islam Makhachev were involved in a tense final face-off on Friday ahead of their headline title bout at UFC 280 in Abu Dhabi this weekend.

The lightweight contenders, who have gradually cranked up hostilities as the week has progressed in the capital, went nose-to-nose at the ceremonial weigh-ins at Etihad Arena.

Dagestan’s Makhachev, hugely popular in the region already, was clearly enjoying the majority of support from the crowd on Friday, at the same venue that will host one of the year's most highly anticipated cards.

“Abu Dhabi give some noise,” Makhachev called to the fans inside the arena. “We’re going to do this tomorrow, Inshallah.”

The No 4-ranked lightweight contender, who rides a 10-fight win streak including two victories in Abu Dhabi, contests his first championship bout.

Oliveira, meanwhile, is the division’s most recent champion. The Brazilian, who has reeled off 11 consecutive victories, was stripped of the belt when he missed weight before his clash with Justin Gaethje in May. Oliveira went on to defeat Gaethje by first-round submission.

After stepping on the scales on Friday afternoon – he was first out at the official weigh-in that morning - Oliveira declared amid boos from the crowd: ‘The lion waits. It’s still roaring.”

UFC 280 features two title bouts, with bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling defending against former two-time belt-holder TJ Dillashaw. The third-final encounter at Etihad Arena on Saturday night sees fast-rising star Sean O’Malley go up against former bantamweight champion Petr Yan.

UFC 280 represents the promotion’s return to Abu Dhabi for the first time since October last year.