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“I’ve been asking for a fight with Conor McGregor for a while, but if it doesn’t happen, we’ll see.”
Charles Oliveira could very well be the dark horse of the UFC lightweight division.
The Brazilian has quietly amassed a seven fight win streak since 2018 and recently beat Kevin Lee in what was undoubtedly his biggest win to date, submitting ‘The Motown Phenom’ with a guillotine choke in the UFC Fight Night 170 main event last month.
Oliveira had previously called out UFC veteran Donald Cerrone but the 30-year-old would like a step up in competition, staking his case for a top contenders bout with former UFC lightweight and featherweight champion Conor McGregor, who TKO’d ‘Cowboy’ earlier this year at UFC 246.
“Looks like Dustin Poirier will fight that skinny guy, Dan Hooker, so the only ones left are Conor McGregor, Donald Cerrone and Paul Felder,” Oliveira said in a recent interview with MMA Fighting’s Guilherme Cruz. “Since Cerrone was one of the last fights I lost, who knows. I’ve been asking for a fight with Conor McGregor for a while, but if it doesn’t happen, we’ll see.”
Before Oliveira returns to the Octagon, however, the top-ten lightweight will have to sign a new deal with the UFC. His UFC contract expired in March, after submission victory over Kevin Lee.