Charles Oliveira has issued a response to former UFC interim welterweight champion Colby Covington, after ‘Chaos’ called for a legacy fight against Oliveira next.
It seemed as though Colby Covington‘s next UFC outing would come against Ian Machado Garry, after the Irishman pushed for the fight to take place in the co-main event of UFC 303 on June 29th.
Despite that, Garry recently revealed that Covington has turned down an offer to fight on the International Fight Week date, as he claimed Colby wouldn’t be available due to injury.
In Covington’s last fight in December against Leon Edwards, he broke his foot in the opening round and has since been recovering from the injury.
Charles Oliveira responds to Colby Covington’s callout for ‘legacy’ fight
Following his recent loss to Arman Tsarukyan at UFC 300 in April, Charles Oliveira stated that he would be open to a ‘legacy’ fight at welterweight if the fight made sense.
Since then, former welterweight title contender Colby Covington has stated that he is the ‘King of Brazil’ and would like to welcome Oliveira up to 170lbs.
Responding to Covington’s callout, Oliveira told Agfight, “In reality, it’s like I said, it’s sitting down and looking at legacy, history, values.
“I told Diego (manager), just sit down, talk, think, see what’s good, see what the UFC thinks about it. It’s not just what I think about it, it’s what the UFC thinks about it.” he added.
Commenting on Covington’s personality, the former lightweight champion branded Covington as ‘talkative’ and is considering the idea of a fight against the 36-year-old at 170lbs.
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“(Colby) is a talkative guy, he’s a guy who talks a lot, so let’s see. Why not? For sure (I’d be willing to go up to welterweight), if it makes sense, if it’s something good for me, why not?” Oliveira stated.
Oliveira looking to return in July or August
Despite having lost at UFC 300 this past April, ‘Do Bronx’ didn’t sustain any injuries, and wants to return to the Octagon in either July or August.
“Of course, I want to fight in July or August. There are a lot of people talking about me so let’s see what’s best.” Oliveira added.
After such a dominant run at 155lbs, Oliveira doesn’t have many options left with Mateusz Gamrot being the only other contender inside the top five of the lightweight division who he hasn’t already fought.
The Brazilian has previously campaigned to be the backup fighter for the UFC 303 main event between Michael Chandler and Conor McGregor, however, it is unclear as of yet whether that will come to fruition.
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