Jump to
It has not even been a week since Charles Oliveira scored an impressive win over lightweight contender Beneil Dariush at UFC 289, but ‘Do Bronx’ is already thinking about his next move. Since the Brazilian suffered little to no damage when picked up a first-round TKO win last Saturday, the former lightweight champion needs no time to recover before he can sign a new contract for another match.
Charles Oliveira wants the money
The only thing stopping Oliveira from taking a fight at the moment is knowing exactly what he wants to do next. Though many fans and even Do Bronx himself want to see the Brazilian rematching current champion Islam Makhachev with the lightweight belt on the line, that is not necessarily what the 33-year-old may accept for his next move.
Though it could be seen as a mistake to not take the rematch against Makhachev if the UFC offers it, Oliveira can think about other scenarios that might make him change his mind. In an interview with Brazilian news outlet UOL, Do Bronx revealed a few possibilities that he would consider if the company suggested them in a negotiation.
“Anything can be arranged, anything can agreed. Let me use (former interim champion Dustin) Poirier’s example. He walked away from a title fight in order to fight (Conor) McGregor, because that would bring him a lot of money. However, he made it clear that his next fight would be for the title if he won (against McGregor). That could happen to me, too.”
“Say, if there’s a fight against some guy that will bring me a lot of money and if I win I’m next for the title.” Oliveira said. “Why not, then? There’s the belt in the division above and the division below. Why not? We can talk about anything. I’m here, we just need to talk. My team is ready to sit down and arrange whatever is better for the team, the UFC and the fans.”
Oliveira has fought in all three divisions before
The fact that Charles Oliveira is still considering going back to the featherweight may surprise the fighting community, given the multiple weight misses Do Bronx had while in that division. Officially, the 33-year-old missed the 146-pound mark four times, in his outings against Cub Swanson (146.2), Jeremy Stephens (146.5), Myles Jury (150) and Ricardo Lamas (155).
As for welterweight, it would not be the first time Oliveira fought in the division if he decided to move up again. However, Do Bronx hasn’t fought in the 170-pound division since his first three professional bouts, when he fought three times in the same night in March 2008. In his very next match, in December of that year, the former champion dropped to lightweight.
The win over Dariush made Charles Oliveira (34-9-1 NC) bounce back from his submission loss to Islam Makhachev, in October 2022. In fact, the loss to the champion snapped an 11-fight winning streak for Do Bronx, who beat some of the lightweight division’s most notable names during that.
From June 2018 to May 2022, the Brazilian defeated athletes such as former interim champions Justin Gaethje, Dustin Poirier and Tony Ferguson, as well as ex-Bellator title-holder Michael Chandler. Out of Charles Oliveira’s 11 victories there, 10 were finishes.
You know you can count on us for quick, consistent quality UFC coverage. Bloody Elbow is an independent, reader supported publication. Please subscribe to our newsletter to keep up with our best work and learn how you can support the site.
Join the new Bloody Elbow
Our Substack is where we feature the work of writers like Zach Arnold, John Nash and Karim Zidan. We’re fighting for the sport, the fighters and the fans. Please help us by subscribing today.
About the author
