Charles Oliveira targets title rematch with Islam Makhachev next: ‘There’s no one at 155lbs to fight him’
Missing out on a rematch fight with pound-for-pound number one, Islam Makhachev last October after suffering a laceration on his eye in the weeks before the bout, former champion, Charles Oliveira has definite plans to take on the Russian in his immediate return to the Octagon.
Oliveira, the current number two ranked lightweight contender, most recently featured on the main card of UFC 300 earlier this year, suffering a controversial split decision loss to Arman Tsarukyan in the pair’s officially billed title eliminator.
As for Makhachev, the Russian standout headlined UFC 302 two months ago against common-foe, Dustin Poirier, submitting the former interim champion with a fifth round D’Arce choke submission.
Charles Oliveira wants October rematch with Islam Makhachev
And with the above-mentioned, Tsarukyan facing a race against time to take on Makhachev in a planned rematch at UFC 308 in October after being hit with a suspension by the NSAC for his part in a pre-fight brawl with a fan, Oliveira – along with his coach, hope to draft in and fight the champion again.
“They [the UFC] really like Charles (Oliveira) – they want the best for Charles,” Diego Lima told AgFight during a recent interview. “And I certainly made it clear that we wanted to return to the belt path. Both Charles and I want the belt. Now with Arman (Tsarukyan) suspended, there would be no name other than Charles Oliveira.”
“Charles is second in the ranking, and if you look at the rankings, there’s no one to fight with (Islam) Makhachev,” Lima explained. “(Dustin) Poirier just fought, (Justin) Gaethje also got knocked out. So the truth is that with Arman out of the game, I believe there is no one at 155 [pounds] to fight Makhachev other than Charles. So it’s certainly what we want, it’s what Charles wants.”
Who wins in a future title rematch: Islam Makhachev or Charles Oliveira?
