Charles Oliveira's coach calls for Islam Makhachev title rematch in light of Arman Tsarukyan's suspension: "That's what we want"
Charles Oliveira's coach believes 'do Bronx' is the only candidate deserving of fighting champion Islam Makhachev now that Arman Tsarukyan is facing a prolonged suspension following UFC 300.
'Ahalkalakets' was the obvious next choice for a crack at the lightweight belt following his split decision win over Oliveira at the milestone pay-per-view. However, During his walkout, the Dagestani threw a punch at a fan after the spectator seemingly grabbed him.
This has fetched the 27-year-old a nine-month suspension by The Nevada State Athletic Commission. However, the No.1-ranked contender has the option to reduce his ban to six months if he takes part in an anti-bullying public service announcement.
Amid these confusions, Oliveira's coach, Diego Lima, is championing for his fighter to be granted his second crack at Makhachev. During an interview with Ag Fight, he said:
"Both Charles and I want the belt. Now with Arman suspended, there would be no other name than Charles Oliveira. Charles is second in the rankings. And if you look at the rankings, there is no one to fight with Makhachev. [Dustin] Poirier just fought, [Justin] Gaethje also got knocked out. So the truth is with Arman out of the game. I believe there is no one at 155 [pounds] to fight Makhachev other than Charles. So, it's certainly what we want, it's what Charles wants and ofcourse it doesn't depend on us, it's [on] a company called [the] UFC... On our part, that's what we want."
Check out Charles Oliveira's coach Diego Lima's comments below:
Islam Makhachev envisions domination over Charles Oliveira in potential rematch
Islam Makhachev believes it'll be more of the same in a potential rematch against Charles Oliveira. The champion from Dagestan believes a second fight will transpire much like the first one.
Speaking about a potential title fight rematch against 'do Bronx' during the post-fight press conference at UFC 294, Makhachev said:
"It's not going to be different. I will show him and I'll [make him] feel a hard time. He'll give up and I'll choke him [out] or finish him."
Check out Islam Makhachev's comments on Charles Oliveira below:
The first time the pair shared the octagon at UFC 280, Makhachev captured the 155-pound strap with a second-round arm-triangle submission over the jiu-jitsu maestro.
While the Brazilian was originally supposed to rematch the lightweight kingpin at UFC 294, a cut suffered during training forced 'do Bronx' to withdraw from the event.