Charles Oliveira was confident that a unilateral victory over Tony Ferguson would take a chance for the UFC lightweight belt, but Dana White’s recent comment suggesting that a fight between “the Bronx” and Justin Gaethje could happen indicates that the company may have other plans for the Brazilian.
Oliveira’s team, however, still hopes that the submissions star will dispute the next gold.
“Honestly, I think he deserves to go straight to the belt,” said businessman and coach Diego Lima, de Oliveira, in an interview with MMA Fighting. “He comes from eight straight wins, beat Kevin Lee in style and then completely dominated Ferguson – and Ferguson is one of the best in the division, won 12 straight wins before losing a title fight – so I think Charles is ready and has enough credibility to fight for the belt. “
Gaethje was rolling in the octagon before losing via submission to Khabib Nurmagomedov in the fight for the title unification at UFC 254 in Abu Dhabi. Gaethje is still in first place on the official UFC list, with Oliveira in third place, behind Dustin Poirier.
The UFC has yet to decide what to do with the 155-pound belt after Nurmagomedov announced his retirement from the sport after defeating Gaethje. Oliveira’s team has a suggestion and involves UFC 257 headliners Poirier and Conor McGregor, who face each other on January 23 at Fight Island.
“With all due respect, Khabib ran over [Gaethje]. That should count and a lot, ”said Lima. “I think Charles’s next fight has to be for the belt against the winner of Poirier and McGregor, not Justin Gaethje. But we know that this fight between Poirier and McGregor involves many things. We know that Poirier’s victory means one thing, and McGregor’s victory changes the whole scenario. I think there is a lot at stake in this fight ”.
Oliveira currently has a fight left in his current contract with the UFC, but does not think about fighting for the contract. Instead, they expect a good leap in negotiations after 8-0 since June 2018, breaking the record for most submissions in UFC history (14) in the process.
“We really want to renew the contract and schedule Charles’ next fight – and if God wants, it will be for the belt,” said Lima. “The position he is in now, the number of victories he has, what he did in the last fight, I think he deserves an upgrade in the stock market. It is more than worthy. Not only because of the position in the ranking, but also because of the organization’s history.
“More bonuses, more submissions, more submissions … He can break two or three records in the next fights. All of this, plus your victory over Ferguson, will be very important when we renew the contract. “
If his wish is not fulfilled and Oliveira has to share the cage with Gaethje in an out-of-league dispute, his coach believes he has the perfect skills to give the former interim champion another defeat.
“Justin is a tough opponent and I think tough opponents make good fights, as we saw in Charles against Kevin Lee and Ferguson,” said Lima. “Charles is ready to beat anyone in the category. Everyone already knows Charles’s floor, everyone sees his evolution in wrestling and feet.
“With all due respect to Gaethje, a tough guy, I see Charles winning in all areas. If this fight is scheduled, we will study Gaethje’s game a lot and look for victory ”.