HOUSTON – Charles Oliveira is the new UFC lightweight champion, but a return to the featherweight division is still on his mind.
Oliveira (31-9 MMA, 19-8 UFC) defeated Michael Chandler (22-6 MMA, 1-1 UFC) by second-round TKO in Saturday’s UFC 262 headliner to claim the vacant 155-pound title. It was the conclusion of a historically long journey to the top for the Brazilian, who is currently riding a nine-fight winning streak.
Some time before that streak began, though, Oliveira had a run at featherweight. It provided mixed results, at best, as well as multiple weight misses. His success at lightweight now speaks for itself, but it seems “Do Bronx” still has a bad taste in his mouth about his experience at 145 pounds.
Oliveira was asked directly at the UFC 262 post-event news conference if he’s finally convinced he’s in the division where he belongs now that he’s a UFC champion. He’s not, and in fact, he would gladly jump on the opportunity to go back and chase a second belt.
“Me and my (father) have talked a lot about this, and I still feel like a featherweight,” Oliveira told reporters, including MMA Junkie, through an interpreter. “But I kind of fit in this division. If Dana White gave me an opportunity to go back down to the featherweight division and win, I’d take it.”
Although Oliveira’s commitment to cutting 10 additional pounds is oddly admirable, the big business for him is going to come in the division where he now reigns.
Everyone will be gunning for Oliveira’s spot, and he welcomes it. The winner of the UFC 264 trilogy bout between Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor on July 10 seems to be the logical frontrunner for No. 1 contender status, and until that fight plays out, Oliveira intends to enjoy his time.
“I battled hard to get here,” Oliveira said. “Everyone’s talking about who it’s going to be next, Poirier or Conor. I’ll leave that to my manager, and I’m going to go home and rest.”
Despite UFC 262 title win, Charles Oliveira still won’t give up on talk of featherweight return
