Lightweight champion Charles Oliveira would like to have his first title defense still this year.
The UFC lightweight champion does not want to wait until next year for his first defense. After defeating Michael Chandler via TKO to win the vacant title back in July, ‘Do Bronx’ would now like to face the first challenger to his belt in December.
During an event in Brazil, Charles Oliveira told Super Lutas, among other media websites, that he does not mind who his challenger will be, as long as he gets to defend his belt in December. In Oliveira’s opinion, it makes no difference who his opponent ends up being, because the belt will not change hands.
“I’m still waiting for my next fight, which should happen in December. A lot of people talk about Poirier, but he seems to be interested in other stuff. I’ve been training and waiting for the promotion to tell me anything. Whoever may come, the title stays in Brazil.”
The win over Chandler put Oliveira (31-8-1 NC), with eight stoppage victories. During this time, the 31-year-old scored wins over some notable names in the lightweight division, such as Tony Ferguson, Kevin Lee, Clay Guida and Jim Miller. Charles’ last loss happened in December 2017. when he got TKO’d by Paul Felder at UFC 218.