‘Chicken’ McGregor ‘Handpicks His Fights!’

Charles Oliveira is moving on from his hopes of facing Conor McGregor.

As soon as Oliveira became Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Lightweight champion in May 2021, an interest in a Conor McGregor clash became prevalent. While illogical from a merit standpoint, “Do Bronx” was aware of what value “The Notorious” generates in all other areas.

“There are no fools here, everybody knows we want this fight because he’ll give us a lot of money, but I do think he’s a guy that needs to be hyped,” Oliveira said at a fan Q&A during UFC 283 fight week (h/t MMA Fighting). “I’ve asked for this fight plenty of times and he never says anything. I’ll be ready to fight him the day he wants, but I won’t call him out anymore.”

Losing his title on the scales at UFC 274 in May 2022, Oliveira has since suffered defeat to Islam Makhachev in his bid to try and reclaim the gold (watch highlights). The former champ aims for a rematch with the Dagestani brute by 2023’s end.

Also in attendance at the Q&A was a fellow former champion of Oliveira’s, Rafael dos Anjos, who was scheduled to face McGregor in 2016. Unfortunately for “RDA,” a broken foot forced him from the bout, leading to the unforgettable Nate Diaz rivalry with McGregor. dos Anjos seems closer to a possible shot at the Irishman in 2023, but isn’t holding his breath.

“Conor picks his fights,” dos Anjos said at the Q&A. “Like Charles said, everybody wants this fight because it will be lucrative. He picks his fights. When he feels that’s the fight for him, he’ll choose it. We’ll be waiting but we’ll continue fighting in the meantime.”

“McGregor chickened out a long time ago,” Oliveira said. “Like Rafael said, he handpicks his fights. I think he looks at the guy and thinks ‘I can beat this one,’ and then he signs the contract. He’s right not to fight me because he knows what will happen.”

McGregor last fought in July 2021, suffering a second consecutive technical knockout loss to Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 (watch highlights).