"I can fight there in February, but for his belt" - Charles Oliveira details plan to fight Alexander Volkanovski in Australia for the featherweight belt
As news broke that Alexander Volkanovski will be the next challenger for the lightweight title following UFC 280, Charles Oliveira has revealed his plans to fight the 145er in Australia for the featherweight title.
'The Great' has made it clear in recent times that he's ready to make history and join the exclusive list of two-division champions in the UFC. While he sits in wait for the outcome this weekend, he may get his chance early as he is being used as a replacement should something happen to one of the athletes in the main event.
While taking questions ahead of his clash on Saturday, Charles Oliveira detailed what's next for him following UFC 280, opening up on the possibility of facing Alexander Volkanovski for the featherweight strap:
"First of all, we're gonna focus on what's gonna happen here... My timing is to actually fight in Brazil afterwards regardless. If we're gonna make this happen against Volkanovski, we're going to have it two ways. We're gonna at 70 [kg] [lightweight], and then we're going to fight at 66 [featherweight] at the end of the year... I can fight there [Australia] in February, but for his belt... Surely [I can make the weight], I have a great team for this, to actually get down to 66."
The Australian champion cemented himself as one of the greatest fighters in the world after his five-round beatdown of the highly respected Max Holloway earlier this year. Not only is the 34-year-old good at dominating opponents, but he's a gritty brawler who has an elite ability to fight out of threatening positions.
Check out Charles Oliveira's proposal to the featherweight champion in the video below:
What's next for Charles Oliveira following UFC 280?
With a win, Charles Oliveira will reclaim his lightweight throne and will be considered by many to be the greatest 155er to ever compete in the UFC, surpassing the likes of Khabib Nurmagomedov.
A potential move down to 145lbs to capture a second championship is on the cards, but there are still a number of opponents in his current division waiting in the wings for their shot at his throne.
If the Brazilian loses, he would likely have to fight his way back into title contention and compete against one of the many rising contenders in the stacked weight-class.