Former UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira has a somewhat familiar plan in place for his return to the Octagon later this year.
Oliveira defeated former interim lightweight champion Justin Gaethje in the UFC 274 main event. He had to vacate his lightweight title after failing to make championship weight following some controversy regarding the scales in Phoenix.
Oliveira defeated Dustin Poirier in his previous performance at UFC 269 via third-round submission. He originally earned the then-vacant belt over Michael Chandler at UFC 262 and will need to claim the vacant title once again.
Oliveira is now the No. 1 lightweight contender following his victory. While it’s unknown who his next opponent will be, Oliveira foresees a return to Brazil for his next fight.
“We basically gonna do what we’ve done in recent past,” Oliveira said during his UFC 274 post-fight press conference. “We wanna fight in December, wanna rest a little bit, continue with that same timing. I think that’s the best. And by the way, it’s going to be in Brazil.”
The UFC hasn’t held an event in Brazil since Oliveira last competed in his home country against Kevin Lee in March 2020. It was the first event that the UFC held of any kind without fans in attendance during the beginning stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Oliveira’s win over Poirier came last December at UFC 269, and he’ll look to put on another stellar performance in that same timeframe this year.
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