When Dana White said that Arman
Tsarukyan wouldn’t get the next lightweight title shot after
pulling out of the UFC 311
main event, attention immediately shifted to Charles
Oliveira as the next potential contender for Islam
Makhachev’s belt.
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However, shortly after this past Saturday’s event, Oliveira gave an
interview to UFC Brasil suggesting a different rematch.
“If Islam just wants to return in October, I want to fight before
that,” Oliveira said. “Why not Max [Holloway] for the BMF belt? I
suffered an injury in the beginning of our first fight. I think we
both deserve to make it happen.”
Holloway immediately responded in the affirmative via X:
“International Fight week?”
International Fight Week?
— Max Holloway (@BlessedMMA)
January 21, 2025
Diego Lima, Oliveira’s manager and head coach, clarified everything
in an interview with Ag.Fight on Tuesday.
“The most important thing for Charles is without a doubt the belt,
but we depend on Makhachev for that,” Lima said. “If he wants to
fight in June at International Fight week, that would be the ideal
world for us, but if he only wants to fight in October, Charles
doesn’t want to spend a year without fighting, so the ideal
situation would be to fight for the BMF belt with Holloway. These
are the two possibilities we are currently working on.”
Oliveira and Holloway initially squared off in the UFC Fight Night
74 headliner on Aug. 23, 2015. Holloway emerged victorious at the
1:39 mark of Round 1 after Oliveira suffered an esophagus injury.