The UFC’s lightweight division has a plethora of shades! Stacked to the gills, ultra-competitive, best in the sport, and more recently, a mess. Ilia Topuria moving to 155lbs has injected a lot of uncertainty at the top of the division, with the title picture quite fuzzy at the moment. No one knows who champion Islam Makhachev will fight next. Will Charles Oliveira finally receive his long-due rematch from UFC 294 or will a rejuvenated Justin Gaethje get the nod after his recent outing at UFC 313? However, it’s safe to say that ‘La Leyenda’ is probably not next in line. And the reason is the Dagestani’s reservations about his legitimacy at lightweight. Fair point if you think about it!
But perhaps the even more pertinent and interesting question is. Who will Topuria fight next? We do know it will be a top-ranked lightweight and many feel that ‘Do Bronx’ would be actually perfect to test how good Topuria is at 155lbs. But what does the former champ think of fighting Topuria? Well, verbose UFC analyst Chael Sonnen asked the Brazilian what he thinks the Spanish-Georgian superstar should do next. Here is what Oliveira had to say.
“He’s [Topuria’s] definitely a guy who deserves respect. He left his belt to move up a weight class, but he could fight Arman, who is number one, and if he wins, he would fight whoever has the title. I think that would be the fight Charles Oliveira would [like to] see. And it could definitely be Arman and Topuria. Gaethje and Topuria would be great fights. They are the guys who are at the top of the list and deserve respect. Very tough guy, you know,” ‘Do Bronx’ said on ‘Uncle Chael’s YouTube channel.
June 7, 2023, VANCOUVER, BC, CANADA: Charles Oliveira responds to questions during a news conference ahead of his fight against Beneil Dariush at UFC 289, in Vancouver, on Wednesday, June 7, 2023. Canada News – June 7, 2023 PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY – ZUMAc35_ 20230607_zaf_c35_102 Copyright: xDarrylxDyckx
Indeed, ‘La Leyenda’s decision to vacate his featherweight belt (which he will officially hold until the Volkanovski-Lopes UFC 314 clash) rather than hold on to it and try to go for a double championship has been commended by UFC stars, including Oliveira and Dustin Poirier.
But as far as being Topuria’s next opponent, ‘Do Bronx’ is clear! The soon-to-be-former featherweight king should fight either #1 ranked Arman Tsarukyan or #3 Justin Gaethje. And although he doesn’t say it here explicitly, the Brazilian former champ is actually hoping to fight Makhachev for the title next. Obviously, if Oliveira were to fight Topuria next, he could lose and get out of title contention yet again. But the thing is, Oliveira may have to fight Topuria after all, even if he doesn’t want to.
Why Charles Oliveira’s callout for Islam Makhachev is likely to fall on deaf ears?
“I wanna fight on International Fight Week. Makhachev wants it too. Dana, Sean Shelby, Hunter, let’s make it happen. I really want this fight. I’m coming after this belt. I want to become champion again, you know? I’ll write this story one more time. UFC, let’s make it happen. This is the fight everybody wants to see. I’m ready,” Oliveira said in a video on his social media last week.
So it is clear, ‘Do Bronx’ wants to rematch Islam Makhachev and regain his title. Makhachev, of course, beat the Brazilian in their UFC 280 clash to clinch the vacant championship in a bout where Oliveira looked a pale shadow of his attacking, brilliant self. Fans and the former champ have been waiting for a rematch ever since. A rematch was even set for UFC 294 in October 2023 as mentioned before but ‘Do Bronx’ had to pull out after a gash opened on his eyebrow while training.
Oliveira had to go back to the drawing board yet again and has finally regained his place as the primary title contender. The Brazilian lost out in a close split decision to Tsarukyan at UFC 300 while making a majestic comeback at UFC 309 last November and beating Michael Chandler convincingly.
So you can imagine he doesn’t want to put that at risk yet again by fighting Topuria and is hoping to fight Makhachev instead. But the problem is, the Dagestani doesn’t want to fight him. “I like this idea [of fighting Gaethje] because I haven’t fought Justin yet. I already fought [Oliveira] and preparing for the same opponent is not a great motivation,” the champ said in January.
So whether he wants to or not, Oliveira probably isn’t fighting Islam Makhachev next. In which case, he might as well go for the second biggest name in the division, and that is Ilia Topuria at the moment. What do you think about Oliveira’s take on who Topuria should fight next?
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