Ahead of his own pivotal clash at UFC 309 this weekend, Charles Oliveira has warned featherweight titleholder, Ilia Topuria to think long and hard about a lightweight leap – urging him to be “careful” what he wishes for.
Oliveira, who retains the number two rank at 155lbs, is slated to co-headline UFC 309 this weekend, taking on Michael Chandler in a rematch of their vacant title fight back in 2021, over the course of five rounds.
Sidelined since UFC 300 earlier this year, Sao Paulo native, Charles Oliveira most recently suffered a controversial split judging loss to Arman Tsarukyan in a much-debated decision in the pair’s officially-billed title eliminator.
As for Topuria, the unbeaten featherweight kingpin most recently headlined UFC 308 just last month, stopping former champion and current symbolic BMF titleholder, Max Holloway with a massive third round knockout – becoming the first to stop the Hawaiian with strikes.
And off the back of his win, Topuria, who is expected to take on Alexander Volkanovski in a title re-run next year, also welcomed the chance to take on Islam Makhachev for the lightweight crown in pursuit of duel-champion status in the Octagon.
Charles Oliveira issues lightweight warning to Ilia Topuria
However, today weighing in on a potential move to 155lbs for Topuria, former champion, Oliveira has warned that while the Georgian-Spaniard is very “dangerous”, he must be “careful” in pursuing opponents a weight class higher.
“He (Ilia Topuria) would be obviously a tough fight and I think that what happens is a lot of fighters whenever they get the belt, they have that belt wrapped around their waist, they start thinking up and down in the divisions,” Charles Oliveira told assembled media during his availability ahead of UFC 309.
“I think you have to be very careful when you’re coming up to lightweight because this is tough. This is a very tough division but at any rate, I think that he’s a very tough and very dangerous guy.”