Charles Oliveira maintains he will fight Islam Makhachev again for title with UFC 289 win: ‘I’m next, I’m in line for it’
Former undisputed lightweight champion, Charles Oliveira has denied claims from Islam Makhachev’s head coach, Javier Mendez that he will miss out a rematch with the Russian even with a win at UFC 289 – maintaining he is next in line to the throne should he beat Beneil Dariush this weekend.
Oliveira, the current #1 ranked lightweight contender, has been sidelined from the Octagon since he headlined UFC 280 last October in Abu Dhabi, UAE – suffering a second round arm-triangle submission loss to Makhachev in the pair’s vacant title fight.
With the defeat, Sao Paulo native, Charles Oliveira saw his division-best 12-fight winning run halted by Makhachev, as well as missing out on the opportunity to reclaim gold which he lost to the scales at UFC 274 last May.
And now slated to co-headline UFC 289 this weekend in an expected title-eliminator against Dariush in Vancouver, Canada, Oliveira’s chances of securing a title rematch with Makhachev have already been shot down by the aforenoted, Mendez – who claims Dariush is the only contender elect with a win on Saturday.
“I want [Beneil Dariush] to win [at UFC 289] because I feel he deserves it,” Javier Mendez said. “And Charles (Oliveira), I’ll be honest with you, I don’t know if we’ll get Charles even if he does win. It’s all based on what the UFC looks at the algorithm for, who’s gonna get the most money. Charles winning is not gonna be enough.”
“I think it’s gonna be (Justin) Gaethje or Dustin (Poirier) that’ll get the shot if Beneil doesn’t win,” Mendez explained. “Beniel wins, he gets the shot. I want Beneil, only because he’s a great challenge and he deserves it. But if Charles wins, then, hey, good for him too. Then Charles will probably have to fight one more time.”
Charles Oliveira believes a win at UFC 289 will secure him title rematch with Islam Makhachev
However, according to Oliveira, neither incoming UFC 291 headliners, former interim champions, Dustin Poirier nor Justin Gaethje – whom the Brazilian holds a win over, will leapfrog him if he wins at UFC 289 this weekend.
“Whoever wins this fight [at UFC 289], this Saturday, is gonna go for the [lightweight] title [against Islam Makhachev],” Charles Oliveira told assembled media during his availability ahead of UFC 289 this weekend. “I’m next – I’m in line for it.”
