PHOENIX – Charles Oliveira is at peace with his situation coming out of UFC 274, and he’s confident in what the future holds.
Oliveira (33-8 MMA, 21-8 UFC) was stripped of the UFC lightweight title on Saturday the moment he stepped into the octagon for his main event with Justin Gaethje (23-4 MMA, 6-4 UFC) at Footprint Center. He missed weight in controversial fashion on Friday and, as a result, had to give up his belt.
The title remains vacant in the aftermath of the event because Oliveira submitted Gaethje in the opening round of a thrilling fight. Although UFC president Dana White said he still considers Oliveira to be champion, the Brazilian officially is not.
Oliveira disputes that notion, though.
“I went into the octagon to defend the title,” Oliveira told MMA Junkie and other reporters through an interpreter at the UFC 274 post-fight news contender. “I don’t have to get it back. The champion is Charles Oliveira, and we all know that.”
Oliveira, 32, is expected to fight for the vacant belt against a yet-to-be-determined contender later this year. He said he wants to fight in Brazil in November or December, but it remains to be seen if that will happen or who will be the opponent.
There’s a litany of options, from Islam Makhachev to Beneil Dariush to Dustin Poirier to Michael Chandler, or possibly even Conor McGregor, who was mentioned as a possibility by Olivera post-fight.
Oliveira said he wants the contenders to call his name, though. He’s currently on an 11-fight winning streak, but before he emerged as a top contender and champion, he said no one in the division acknowledged him. Now it’s his turn to stand atop the mountain.
“I said upstairs that Conor McGregor would be a good fight,” Oliveira said. “When I was No. 7 in the rankings, I called these guys out and none of them paid attention to me. So let the matchmakers choose. The name is Charles Oliveira, and that won’t change.”
Despite getting his hand raised in the end, it wasn’t a flawless night for Oliveira. He was knocked down prior to rallying for the finish, which has become an increasingly common theme for his fights.
Oliveira showed once again that he has no quit in him, though, and said it’s going to take a lot more to defeat him.
“This is a message to the division: I know who I am, and I know where I came from. You knocked me down, but I’ll keep going,” Oliveira said. “I knew that I was going to get hit. I knew I was going to hit him. I was ready for a war, and it was all about who wanted it more. I was enlightened. And again, the name of the champion is Charles Oliveira.”
‘Enlightened’ Charles Oliveira says he’s still champ after UFC 274, sends message to contenders