The mystery regarding Charles Oliveira’s next opponent is over, as the Brazilian will face Arman Tsarukyan in a contender’s bout at UFC 300.
While it was rumored that Justin Gaethje would receive the next lightweight title shot against reigning champion Islam Makhachev, UFC CEO Dana White added some clarity to the situation during his announcement on Sunday night.
"The winner will face Islam when he returns this summer," White said.
Shortly after the official announcement, Oliveira’s coach, Diego Lima, revealed further details regarding the negotations in an interview with Sherdog.com.
"As I [said] a few weeks ago, Charles' main focus was the belt. If Makhachev would fight, the opponent would be Charles, but many things have happened since we talked,” Lima said. “Makhachev is still injured and besides that, he will have Ramadan. And after Ramadan he will need time to get ready.
“Since Charles is a former champion and No. 1 ranked [in the UFC at lightweight] we could wait, but many things could happen. Let´s imagine that [Arman] fought against Gaethje or [Dustin] Poirier and got a great KO in the first round. He would have a great chance to cut the line. Of course, we would be running the risk of losing the title shot [by waiting].”
Lima was pleased with the way the UFC handled negotiations, though his suggestion for an interim lightweight belt did not come to fruition.
"As I always say, the UFC gives us a great treatment,” Lima said. “They offered us a great proposal to fight at UFC 300, and since Charles doesn’t want to go one year without fighting, we accepted. In my opinion they could make an interim belt for that fight. But that's only my opinion. The UFC decided to make it a title eliminator match.”
The Chute Boxe coach declined to offer details regarding a potential strategy for Tsarukyan.
"All I can say now is that Tsarukyan is a great fighter, both standing up and on the ground,” Lima said. “No doubt one of the best of the division. I have seen some of his fights but never thought about [preparing for] him. Now I’ll start to study his fights, looking at him as an opponent and thinking on a strategy to beat him. But Charles’ fans can be assured we will do great work to get one more win and have him fighting for the belt before the end of the year again.”
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