Coach reveals Charles Oliveira turned down rematch with Islam Makhachev at UFC 283 in Brazil
Charles Oliveira reportedly turned down a rematch with Islam Makhachev.
Oliveira fought Makhachev in the main event of UFC 280 in Abu Dhabi for the vacant lightweight title. In the lead-up to the fight, the Brazilian was disappointed the fight was happening in Abu Dhabi rather than in Brazil. So, after Makhachev earned a second-round submission, Oliveira’s team claimed they were offered a rematch at UFC 283 in Brazil.
Although it would’ve been a chance for Oliveira to reclaim his lightweight title, his coach Diego Lima revealed they turned it down because Oliveira wasn’t mentally ready to fight again.
“When we were going to face Makhachev we showed a lot of interest in fighting him in Rio. One week after [UFC 280], the UFC got in touch with us,” Lima said to Super Lutas. “They gave us the opportunity to fight [Makhachev] in Rio. They have always been really good to us. We have really good talks. It was up to us to accept or not. I talked it over with Charles. He’s not injured, but there’s an emotional stress. It’s way beyond physical. Charles is the only fighter that has faced all the top 5 guys within a year. Champs normally hide, they want to fight once a year. That’s not Charles, but Rio is way too close now. We prefer to give Charles a well-deserved vacation.”
With Charles Oliveira turning down the rematch with Islam Makhachev, the Dagestani native will defend his belt for the first time at UFC 284 in Australia against Alexander Volkanovski.
As for Oliveira, it is uncertain when he will fight again or who he will face in his return. He is ranked number one at lightweight and before the loss, he was on an 11-fight win streak. During the run, he had notable wins over Justin Gaethje, Dustin Poirier, Michael Chandler, Tony Ferguson, Kevin Lee, and Jim Miller among others.
