Charles Oliveira believes it’s his destiny to be UFC champ: ‘It’s written’

MMA News
Charles Oliveira believes it’s his destiny to be UFC champ: ‘It’s written’

Ten years into his UFC run, Charles Oliveira now finds himself in the biggest fight of his career, and he believes bigger fights are on the way.

In his mind, Oliveira sees a simple destiny: The UFC lightweight title will be wrapped around his waist in 2021.

“For sure,” Oliveira said through an interpreter at a virtual media day promoting UFC 256. “That’s all planned out. It’s written.”

The way Oliveira sees it, reigning champion Khabib Nurmagomedov will remain true to his promise to never fight again. “The Eagle” called it a career following his October win over Justin Gaethje, but UFC president Dana White has stood firm in his believe that the undefeated Nurmagomedov will return to the cage in search of an additional win to bring his career record to an incredible 30-0.

But Oliveira believes Nurmagomedov, whose father passed away from COVID-19 complications earlier this year, will keep the promise he made.

“I have no doubts in my mind,” Oliveira said. “The champ in the division swore on his father’s grave that he’s not going to fight again, so why would he fight again?”

As Oliveira sees it, with the belt up for grabs, there’s a natural tournament set up on the schedule.

Oliveira (29-8 MMA, 17-8 UFC) faces former interim champion Tony Ferguson (25-4 MMA, 15-2 UFC) in the co-main event of Saturday’s UFC 256 event, which airs on pay-per-view from UFC Apex in Las Vegas. From there, he sees the winner facing off with the victor of the UFC 257 headliner in January, with Conor McGregor facing Dustin Poirier.

While UFC officials haven’t even hinted at such a plan, it’s not a far-fetched scenario. All four fighters Oliveira mentioned, including himself, are currently in the top six in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie lightweight rankings – with Nurmagomedov and Gaethje filling out the list.

For Oliveira, who’s in the middle a career-best seven-fight octagon winning streak, Oliveira knows it’s his chance to break into an exclusive club that has long evaded his grasp.

“The top five guys have been this little group fighting each other,” Oliveira said. “I knew the opportunity was going to come. At some point, those guys weren’t going to have an opportunity. Thankfully I’m in that position now.”

Charles Oliveira believes it’s his destiny to be UFC champ: ‘It’s written’