Chael Sonnen suggests Charles Oliveira vs. Justin Gaethje 2 for vacant title, justifies by citing former UFC title fight as example

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From left to right: Chael Sonnen, Justin Gaethje, and Charles Oliveira [Right image via @ufc on Instagram]

Due to Charles Oliveira’s first-round submission win over Justin Gaethje at UFC 274, most fans would exclude ‘The Highlight’ from the lightweight title picture. Chael Sonnen disagrees with that opinion and suggests a rematch for the vacant belt.

In a video uploaded to his YouTube channel, ‘The American Gangster’ elaborated on the current status of the 155lbs division. He stated that Oliveira's participation in the next UFC lightweight title fight opens the doors for rerunning some of his previous matches, the most recent one included. Sonnen justified it by referring to a similar scenario that took place in the flyweight division:

"Recent history says that Justin Gaethje also should be considered for that match. By recent history, I’m just talking about Figueiredo vs. Benavidez. Exact same scenario. I would suppose that the decision-makers looked at it and go: 'look, if we’re going to give Figueiredo the reward of being one part of the championship match, we can’t reward the offender if we don’t also reward the victim.'"

Chael Sonnen referred to two fights between Joseph Benavidez and Deiveson Figueiredo back in 2020. The two fought at UFC Fight Night events with the vacant flyweight title on the line.

Before their first fight, Figueiredo missed weight and was ineligible to win the belt. Still, he won the contest with a second-round TKO. Despite the controversy surrounding the first bout, the UFC decided to run it again, with both fighters making the weight and Figueiredo winning once again.

Per Chael Sonnen, this could create a precedent that would allow a rematch between Charles Oliveira and Justin Gaethje.

Watch Chael Sonnen suggest Charles Oliveira vs. Justin Gaethje 2 at 1:43 of the video below:

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Charles Oliveira wants to fight in December

Unlike his opponent, ‘Do Bronx’ showed up at the UFC 274 post-fight press conference, where he addressed the media and answered the reporters’ questions.

The Brazilian stated that he feels like he’s still the champion and will not win the vacated lightweight title but defend it instead. He also spoke about the weight-miss fiasco, saying it was a nightmare.

When asked about when he would like to fight next, Oliveira replied that he’s targeting a December return to the octagon:

"We basically going to do what we’ve done in the past... The recent past, so we want to fight December. Should look to the team and corroborate. We want to fight December… Rest a little bit and continue with the same timing. I think that’s the best. And by the way, it’s going to be in Brazil," [via translator]

Watch Charles Oliveira address the media below:

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