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Charles Oliveira wants Islam Makhachev next — and would love to get his rematch in São Paulo, Brazil.
The reigning UFC lightweight champion reacted to Oliveira’s UFC 289 first-round knockout over Beneil Dariush by congratulating his former opponent on social media, but adding “there’s levels in this game.” It didn’t take long for “do Bronx” to respond, writing that “levels are part of the game” and that they would meet again.
Back to Brazil following a flawless night in Vancouver this past Saturday, Oliveira stopped by MMA Fighting’s Trocação Franca podcast to expand on his reaction to Makhachev’s comments.
“There are levels, absolutely. We’ll see each other soon. Pretty soon,” Oliveira said. “It’s all levels, right? Like he said. For sure, there are levels. We’ll see each other. It’s coming. Calm down. I’m in no hurry.”
Makhachev submitted Oliveira this past October in Abu Dhabi to claim the UFC lightweight title and then defended it in a close decision win over Alex Volkanovski in February. He’s now expected to put his belt on the line once again at UFC 294, which goes down Oct. 21 in Abu Dhabi.
“I’m next in line, for sure. There’s nothing to be done or think, especially the way it was [against Dariush],” Oliveira said. “But over these past seven or eight years of my life I’ve learned that I only have to worry about one thing, and it’s not making money or booking fights, it’s just train, rest and make it happen.
“[My managers Jorge Patino] ‘Macaco’ and Diego [Lima] already know what I want, they know I want the belt, so let them clash heads with the organization to see what the next step is. I just want to rest and then go back to training and be ready for my next opponent. … To me, I’m next, without a shadow of a doubt. Dana has made it clear, but we can’t be so sure.”
The UFC is scheduled to return to Brazil two weeks after the Abu Dhabi show for a Fight Night card in São Paulo on Nov. 4. Heavyweights Curtis Blaydes and Jailton Almeida are booked to meet in a five-round main event, but Oliveira, born and raised in São Paulo state, thinks the company should change plans and turn that show into a pay-per-view event, headlined by Makhachev vs. Oliveira 2.
Either way, he’s open to once again flying to Abu Dhabi to face the Russian champion one more time.
“If you work for Coca Cola and they say, ‘Son, go deliver this Coca Cola in Abu Dhabi,’ what are you going to do? You have to go to Abu Dhabi to deliver it, you’re an employee,” Oliveira said. “I’ll go wherever they put me to fight. I can say, ‘No, I won’t fight,’ and they’ll go, ‘OK. Michael Chandler, Dustin Poirier, it’s you for the title.’ That’s what they’ll do. It won’t change.
“When I was the champion, I went to defend my title in his land [note: the belt was vacant when Oliveira fought Makhachev in Abu Dhabi]. He said at the press conference he wanted to fight in Brazil, so why don’t he come fight in November in Brazil?”
Makhachev dominated the Brazilian star in their first meeting inside the octagon, and Oliveira has said multiple times “it wasn’t me that night,” refusing to even watch the contest. Oliveira doesn’t plan on reviewing it even if the UFC books the rematch because “it’s in the past.”
“I just want to be Charles. Bold and happy, that’s all,” Oliveira said. “If I’m bold, if I’m happy, things happen. Rest, breathe, be close to people we love, go back to training and then shining one more time.”
Oliveira was the underdog going into the Dariush clash at UFC 289, and opened as the underdog for a rematch with Makhachev, too — and that, in his words, is just “perfect.”
“I’m very happy when they say I’m the underdog,” Oliveira said. “I’ll promise you this, next time I’ll send you all the screengrabs people send me of them making money with me. And then I joke, ‘How much am I making on this?’ One makes $7,000, the other makes $15,000, the other makes $4,000, and the other makes $3,000. Those who believe in Charles Oliveira make money.
“So I’m the underdog again, cool, perfect, let’s bet. Those who believe in me, let’s make money, let’s make it happen. I was the underdog in this fight so a lot of people made money. I made my money, I won my bonus, and those sitting and cheering on their couches made money, too.”
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