It was an emotional roller coaster of a weekend for Charles
Oliveira.
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“Do Bronx” lost his lightweight title on the scales one day prior
to UFC 274 when he missed weight by 0.5 pounds, but he assured
himself of an opportunity to regain that belt when he submitted
Justin
Gaethje in the opening round of their headlining bout on
Saturday at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, Ariz.
“The most difficult part was listening to my father cry when I
called him right after the UFC stated that I lost my belt,”
Oliveira told
Combate. “That was definitely the hardest moment. As I’ve
always done since I came down to lightweight, I reached 155
[pounds] on Thursday night. But that´s over.
“What I came to do I did. I took [two] knock downs, stood up,
knocked him down and submitted him. How long will they say I’m a
quitter? This time it was the scale. What will they will do next
time? Tie me up?”
The former champion also discussed his post-fight callout of
Conor
McGregor in the Octagon. Oliveira claims the UFC could be
returning to Brazil in December, and he would like to face the
UFC’s biggest star on home soil.
“Conor wants the fight and so do I,” he said. “Now I want to rest,
take some time with my family and return in December. What I want
the most is to make that fight in Brazil. I think I deserve that
and so do the Brazilian fans. If Conor
McGregor wants, we can make it at [170 pounds]. I really want
that fight.”