Charles
Oliveira has been feeling overlooked in the UFC’s crowded
lightweight division, but he’ll get a chance to turn some heads
next month.
“Do Bronx” will lock horns with former interim champ Tony
Ferguson in the UFC
256 co-main event on Dec. 12. The potentially action-packed
155-pound matchup was a late addition to the card after two title
bouts — Amanda
Nunes vs. Megan
Anderson and Petr Yan vs.
Aljamain
Sterling — were canceled.
Oliveira enters the bout on a seven-fight winning streak in which
he has finished all his opponents inside the distance. Facing a
marquee opponent was worth the risk of accepting a short-notice
fight, the Brazilian says.
“I’m happy for this opportunity to fight Ferguson; I’m taking this
fight on less than 20 days notice, but it’s a chance to display my
talent and show I’m ready to fight any Top 5 ranked guy, like I’ve
been saying for a while now,” Oliveira recently told
UFC.com. “The time has come. I will shock the world on Dec.
12.”
Ferguson, meanwhile, had a 12-fight winning streak snapped in a
fifth-round TKO loss to Justin
Gaethje at UFC 249 this past May. Given the skill sets of both
athletes, it seems likely to be an easy contender for “Fight of the
Night.”
“I’m expecting this fight to be a war, because we’re both good on
the feet and on the ground. We both like to fight, we both move
forward,” Oliveira said. “Fans can be sure this is going to be a
war, but they can also be sure that when it’s done, my arm will be
raised. It’s my moment. I respect Ferguson in every way — he’s
tough, a fantastic guy — but now it’s my time.”
UFC 256 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined
by a flyweight title bout between Deiveson
Figueiredo and Brandon
Moreno. The main card airs on pay-per-view via ESPN+ following
prelims on ESPN2 and ESPN+.