UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira is already thinking about the pursuit of ‘champ-champ’ status after his first title defense.
Oliveira wrapped up his stellar 2021 by defeating Dustin Poirier at UFC 269, further cementing himself as the lightweight king. He earned the then-vacant title over Michael Chandler at UFC 262 after Khabib Nurmagomedov retired.
Oliveira has found a home at 155 pounds after an up-and-down tenure at featherweight. But, he has previously stated that he would entertain the idea of moving back down to 145 if a title shot was available.
During a recent interview on MMA Fighting’s Trocacao Franca podcast, Oliveira further explained his ambitions, after his coach stated that chasing more than one title was possible.
“I really thought I couldn’t drop to 145 anymore,” Oliveira said, “But this last weight cut, I was really [close to] 155 before the fight with this work we’ve been doing, with lots of water in the body, and we believe we could easily make 145.
“If I had the opportunity to go straight for the 145 belt, I’d move down to fight. Also, if I had the opportunity to go straight for the 170 belt, I’d also move up to fight, but I believe it’s more viable to [drop down] to 145 instead of going to 170 at this moment.”
Kamaru Usman is widely expected to face Leon Edwards next but has taken out most top contenders. Volkanovski recently had his Max Holloway trilogy canceled and is awaiting a new opponent for UFC 272.
Oliveira is widely expected to face Justin Gaethje for his next lightweight title defense, but a money fight against Conor McGregor might be possible as well. Oliveira is looking ahead to a potentially active 2022.
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