Often thought of as the odd man out in the top heavy Lightweight division, Charles Oliveira has the chance to crash the party and move his way to the front of the championship line if he can score a win over Tony Ferguson at UFC 256.
In fact, “Do Bronx” says if he does defeat “El Cucuy” on Dec. 12, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada, there is no reason he shouldn’t be the next man up for a shot at the division strap.
“It’s very clear: Whoever wins this fight is the next title contender,” Oliveira told MMA Fighting. “I have to stay focused and concentrated. He was coming off 12 wins in a row and I think he made a mistake against Justin Gaethje, so we can’t make mistakes in there.”
Speaking of long win streaks, Oliveira currently owns the second longest win streak in the division with seven in a row. Only division champion Khabib Nurmagomedov has more with 13 straight wins inside the Octagon.
What’s more impressive about Oliveira’s win streak is that he has finished all seven of his foes, and he plans on making Ferguson number eight.
“Winning this fight I’ll be the next challenger, no doubt,” he said. “Seven wins in a row at the moment. It will be eight after this, and I don’t plan on leaving it in the judges’ hands. It will be eight finishes in a row. There’s no way I have to wait. I’m the next challenger.”
At the moment, Khabib is still the champion despite announcing his retirement after UFC 254. But we could be getting a clearer picture of his combat future once and for all when Dana White visits with him in the coming weeks.
Of course, the winner of the upcoming rematch between Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor could have say in who gets next dibs at the title shot. And let’s not forget about this guy.