Breaking – Islam Makhachev targeted to rematch Charles Oliveira in title fight at UFC 297 in January

An undisputed lightweight championship fight rematch between division champion, Islam Makhachev, and former champion, current number one ranked challenger, Charles Oliveira is currently in the works to headline UFC 297 on January 20. in Toronto, Canada.

Makhachev, the current undisputed lightweight champion, was scheduled to headline UFC 294 just last month in Abu Dhabi, UAE against rival, Oliveira, until a nasty laceration suffered by the Brazilian above his right eye forced the cancellation of the set rematch.

Replacing Oliveira, featherweight champion, Alexander Volkanovski faced Makhachev in his own title rematch, suffering a spectacular first round high-kick and follow-up strikes knockout loss to the Russian.

Sidelined since he rebounded to the winner’s enclosure back in June, former champion, Oliveira snapped his winless run in Canada, landing a stunning first round ground strikes TKO win over perennial contender, Beneil Dariush.

Islam Makhachev x Charles Oliveira 2 in the works for UFC 297

And according to a report tonight from Ariel Helwani, the current plan is to pit Islam Makhachev and Charles Oliveira in a championship rematch atop UFC 297 in January of next year.

“The current plan – though not finalized just yet – is to have Islam Makhachev x Charles Oliveira 2 – headline UFC 297,” Helwani posted on his official X account. “That event, while not officially announced yet, is currently slated to Jan. 20 in Toronto. The original plan for that main was Volkanovski x Topuria, but now the plan is for that to be on the February PPV.”

Last night, reports also revealed how a vacant bantamweight championship fight between former title challenger, Raquel Pennington, and Mayra Bueno Silva has been added to the same UFC 297 pay-per-view card in ‘The Great White North’. 

First clashing back in October of last year at UFC 280, Makhachev snapped Oliveira’s division-best winning streak in the pair’s vacant lightweight title fight, landing the divisional crown with a stunning second round arm-triangle submission win in the Middle East.

Who wins at UFC 297 in Canada: Islam Makhachev or Charles Oliveira?