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Charles
Oliveira is among the many
Ultimate Fighting Championship athletes who has
pursued a potentially lucrative fight with Conor
McGregor over the years.
These days, however, “do Bronx” isn’t holding out much hope for the
36-year-old Irishman to return to the Octagon in any fashion.
McGregor hasn’t fought since July 2021, and his scheduled return
against Michael
Chandler at UFC 303 last June was scrapped during fight week
when “Notorious” pulled out of the event due to a broken toe.
McGregor continues to make headlines outside of the cage — most
recently for a
meeting with President Donald Trump on St. Patrick’s Day — but
there has been no word on a potential fight booking.
“To be honest, I don’t know why people are still talking about
Conor McGregor. He’s done everything he wanted to do in the sport
and now he chooses to live his life the way he’s living it,”
Oliveira said in a recent interview with Oddspedia.
“We’ve been waiting for him to come back, and Michael Chandler has
been waiting for about two years and he hasn’t shown up. I think
fans should forget about Conor McGregor coming back. He’s not going
to fight again.”
Oliveira, a former 155-pound champion, figures to have a number of
interesting options for his next Octagon appearance — even if
McGregor isn’t one of them. After besting Chandler via unanimous
decision in his most recent outing at UFC 309,
the Brazilian has his sights set on another run at lightweight
gold.
“I was talking about fighting Max
Holloway for BMF, but it looks like he’s going to fight
Dustin
Poirier. To be honest, I want to fight for the title. I think I
deserve it,” Oliveira said. “[Islam] Makhachev won’t fight for a
while, and that’s why the BMF idea came up. I want to fight for the
title anyway, now I’m just waiting for the call.”
Oliveira had a chance to earn a title shot at UFC 300, but he
dropped a majority decision to Arman Tsaruyan in what was perceived
as a No. 1 contender’s bout. Tsarukyan’s opportunity fell by the
wayside when he withdrew from a proposed bout against Makhachev at
UFC
311. Instead, Makhachev defended his belt against Renato
Carneiro on short notice. As it stands, there is no clear No. 1
contender for Makhachev.
“The division is very complicated,” Oliveira said. “I think I
deserve to be next in line, but I work for Zuffa. They’re talking
about Dustin Poirier, Justin
Gaethje and Ilia
Topuria. I’m just waiting for the call. I don’t know who’s
going to be next, there’s been talks, but I just don’t know.”
Topuria, who recently vacated the featherweight belt, is an
intriguing addition to the lightweight division. Oliveira is
confident in his chances against the Georgian-Spaniard.
“I’ll fight whoever they tell me to fight. I have nothing but
respect for Ilia Topuria, but that’s at lightweight,” he said.
“It’s the toughest division you’ll ever see and I have power in my
hands. I believe in my jiu-jitsu, but I believe I can knock out
Ilia Topuria.”
