Charles Oliveira 'definitely' sees himself fighting Alexander Volkanovski, but not for the lightweight title
Charles Oliveira has revealed that he's interested in a super-fight against Alexander Volkanovski down the line.
Oliveira is currently preparing for his rematch against Islam Makhachev next month at UFC 294. Their bout takes place in Abu Dhabi on October 21, almost a year to the day that Makhachev submitted the Brazilian in their first meeting.
Oliveira immediately returned to winning ways in his next fight, earning the rematch against the Russian after a first-round TKO victory over Beneil Dariush at UFC 289.
As 'do Bronx' prepares for perhaps the most important fight of his career, he recently sat down for an interview with James Lynch. Oliveira was then proposed the idea of potentially facing Alexander Volkanovski as Islam Makhachev has done.
According to Charles Oliveria, facing Volkanovski interests him. The Brazilian even admitted that he may even return to featherweight to make the fight happen. He said (through a translator):
"He [Charles Oliveira] has definitely thought [about] going down, but like he has said before, he just likes to take it one step at a time. Right now he is strictly focused on Islam and God willing, if things are supposed to be the way that they are, he'll definitely go down and fight Alex."
Catch Charles Oliveiria's comments here (8:40):
Mateusz Gamrot wants to face Charles Oliveira next and predicts Islam Makhachev rematch
Mateusz Gamrot has revealed he wants to test his ground game against Charles Oliveira following his victory over Rafael Fiziev.
Gamrot and Fiziev met in the main event of UFC Vegas 79, however, their bout ended in dubious circumstances. During the second round, 'Ataman' threw a kick that inadvertently injured his own knee, putting an end to the fight and handing a TKO victory to 'Gamer'.
In the post-fight press conference, Gamrot was asked who he'd like to face next. He admitted the challenge of facing the submission artist Oliveira is something he would relish:
"Next one, I would like to test myself against Charles Oliveira because he is the most dangerous guy in the ground. My previous opponent [Rafael Fiziev], every time, stand up, stand up. And like, the ground is hard for everybody."
The Polish fighter was then asked his prediction for Oliveira vs. Makhachev II, where he stated that he expects the same result as the first fight:
"My prediction is the result will be the same like last time that Islam defends his belt. And I can wait for Charles Oliveira till next year [2024]. Doesn't matter -- Maybe March, maybe April, maybe May. I will be ready for him. And I wanna fight with him."
Catch Mateusz Gamrot's comments here: