Former UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira wants to test himself in the welterweight fold.
Olivera, 34, was defeated for just the second time since December 2017 at last month’s UFC 300 event after the judges opted for Arman Tsarukyan in what was a tight, three round battle between two fighters regarded as being among the elite at 155-pounds. The loss, though, dropped Oliveira a few rungs on the title contention ladder; particularly considering that his other defeat during his recent run came against champion Islam Makhachev.
And as such Oliveira, who previously competed in the featherweight division, says he might see how his lethal submission skills translate to 170.
“Why not?” he said, speaking to MMA Fighting. “Why not take a fight that will lead us to money and history and legacy? We have to think about it and talk to the organisation. Why not move up in weight and do a big fight? A fight that makes sense and gives us money? Why not?”
“There’s so much going on [in the lightweight division],” he added previously. “Conor and Michael Chandler, Dustin Poirier and Islam Makhachev, fights that are about to happen soon, so I don’t want to rush things. I just fought, it was recent. I have no injuries but everybody knows that a camp is a camp. I want to take it slow, no craziness, to do things the right way.”
As for his UFC 300 loss to Tsarukyan, who has effectively usurped Oliveira in the 155-pound frame, Oliveira said that he believes that he could have been awarded the fight but isn’t going to kick up a fuss about it.
“There’s no point complaining about something that won’t change,” he said. “The result won’t change. Many people gave me the win just like many people said I lost. A lot of people will talk crap online like they always do, of course, but it won’t change. That only fuels me to work harder. I know how hard I worked to get where I got and put on that fight.
“I could have been more aggressive, walked forward and pushed the pace on the feet,” he explained. “I shouldn’t have waited that long on the ground, I could have battled and moved more. In my eyes, I think I won the first round pretty clearly. I lost the second round. The third was the closest one. Everything I say here will be controversial, but that’s the reality.
“If you watch it, he took me down, but what did he do? He did nothing. He just laid there, quietly. I was trying to submit him. I won’t create any controversy here, I won’t whine about it and say I won or lost. The result is that and there’s nothing I can do.”
