Charles Oliveira believes he is one win away from fighting for the UFC lightweight title again
Former champion Charles Oliveira believes he is one win away from fighting for the UFC lightweight title again.
Oliveira lost his title to Islam Makhachev back at UFC 280 last October when he was submitted. According to the UFC’s official rankings, Oliveira is the No. 1 ranked contender in the division still. However, with Makhachev fighting featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski next month at UFC 284 in a super fight, it remains to be seen how the lightweight division will shake out.
While Oliveira might be in a strange position right now as far as the division goes since he needs to wait and see how that title fight shakes out, he feels like he’s still right there for the belt. Speaking to AG Fight in a recent interview, Oliveira suggested he’s only one more win away from, getting another shot at the UFC lightweight title that he previously held for 16 months.
“I’ve been a long way from that belt. Today I’m one fight away from him. UFC knows that, knows what I want. I didn’t come here to play, I came to make history. I want to fight around the end of March, April, that’s my timing. I need to fight on that date. And I need a guy who, winning, will definitely be the next challenger for the title. Because he (Islam) will fight now in February. So I, in March, April, caught a guy who puts me in front of the goal again for the title at the end of the year. For sure (just one more fight to the belt). Now I fight in March, April and at the end of the year for the title again,” Oliveira said.
One potential opponent for Oliveira is Beneil Dariush, who is on a long win streak himself. It’s possible the UFC could match the two up next, and Dariush even called for that fight recently. However, it’s still unknown what the UFC’s plans are for these top two 155lbs contenders.
Wo do you think Charles Oliveira should fight next, and do you think he is really one win away from fighting for the belt again?
