Charles Oliveira was gearing up for a rematch against current Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Lightweight champion, Islam Makhachev, in early 2024 before Dana White revealed a huge change in plans.
Indeed, because Makhachev isn’t 100 percent healthy — or the Dagestani, rightfully, just wants a “fresh” opponent — “Do Bronx” will now battle surging 155-pound contender, Arman Tsarukyan, at UFC 300 in a No. 1 title challenger eliminator match.
Nevertheless, while many view the fight as a huge risk for Oliveira (especially because of this) the former 155-pound champion’s camp felt that sitting around and waiting for Makhachev to get better was an even bigger risk. According to Oliveira’s coach Diego Lima, eliminating another possible title contender first-hand is better than potentially losing the title fight by playing the waiting game.
“As I [said] a few weeks ago, Charles’ main focus was the belt,” Lima told Sherdog. “If Makhachev would fight, the opponent would be Charles, but many things have happened since we talked. Makhachev is still injured and, besides that, he will have Ramadan. And after Ramadan he will need time to get ready.
“Since Charles is a former champion and No. 1 ranked [in the UFC at lightweight] we could wait, but many things could happen. Let’s imagine that [Arman] fought against Gaethje or [Dustin] Poirier and got a great KO in the first round. He would have a great chance to cut the line. Of course, we would be running the risk of losing the title shot [by waiting].”
The logic makes sense — title shots in UFC are never really guaranteed (there are exceptions, of course). Still, there are countless things that can happen in the coming months, but getting a win at UFC 300 is priority No. 1 for the talented Brazilian. But, it will be easier said than done because Tsarukyan has been on a tear since 2019, winning eight of nine fights in that stretch.
It’s a reality that is not lost on Team Oliveira.
“All I can say now is that Tsarukyan is a great fighter, both standing up and on the ground,” Lima said. “No doubt one of the best of the division. I have seen some of his fights but never thought about [preparing for] him.
“Now I’ll start to study his fights, looking at him as an opponent and thinking on a strategy to beat him,” he concluded. “But, Charles’ fans can be assured we will do great work to get one more win and have him fighting for the belt before the end of the year again.”
Oliveira was last seen defeating Beneil Dariush at UFC 289, stopping him via strikes in the first round (highlights). As for Tsarukyan, his last win also came against Dariush, defeating him last month at UFC Austin … also via first round technical knockout (see it).
For more on UFC 300 click here.