Photo by Buda Mendes/Zuffa LLC
Lightweight contender Charles Oliveira asks the UFC for a chance to prove he is ready for division’s elite.
UFC lightweight contender Charles Oliveira just wants an opportunity to prove his worth.
While he waits for a top-5 contender to accept a fight with him, ‘Do Bronx’ names the ones he wishes to fight the most, which include former interim champ Tony Ferguson and Dan Hooker.
In an interview with Ag Fight, Oliveira claims he has done enough in the UFC to earn a shot against the division’s elite, but is still waiting for the promotion to pair him up against any of the top athletes at lightweight.
“I’ve been asking so much for an opportunity to fight a top ranked guy who’s ahead of me,” Oliveira said. “I think I could fit into this fight (against Tony Ferguson). That’s the chance I’ve been wanting for so long.”
“He’s a guy who has said he would fight me.” Oliveira continued. “I also said I would fight him. Maybe he’ll come back in November, so it would be a great honor to fight him. It would be huge war and it would show how much I’ve been evolving. It doesn’t matter which top 5 fighter comes, I will win. If it’s Hooker in November, that’s cool. Tony Ferguson now, great. I’ll be ready. All I need is an opportunity. I’m not asking for too much. It’s my right, I deserve it.”
Most recently, Charles Oliveira (29-8-1 NC) was forced to pull out of a fight against Beneil Dariush for personal reasons. Currently, the 30-year-old is on a seven-fight winning streak, with victories over notable names, such as Clay Guida, Jim Miller and Kevin Lee, all of those wins coming by way of knockout or submission. His last loss happened in December 2017, when he was TKO’d by Paul Felder.