Instead of the promised title shot for him against Islam Makhachev, Charles Oliveira will be facing Arman Tsarukyan at UFC 300. While many view this as unfortunate for the No. 1-ranked lightweight fighter, his coach, Diego Lima, still sees it as the right path for Oliveira.
Oliveira lost the belt to Makhachev via submission at UFC 280. The promotion, nonetheless, gave the fighter a chance to regain the title at UFC 294, but “Do Bronxs” withdrew citing a training injury. Despite this, the UFC announced that Oliveira was the No. 1 contender.
Yet, the division witnessed some dramatic changes in the past months, especially with the entrance of Tsarukyan in the Top 5 and, ultimately, in the title conversation after his memorable KO win over Beneil Dariush. “Ahalkalakets” lost to the champ when he made his debut in 2019 but is determined to redeem himself.
In line with this, the promotion giant has decided to set up Oliveira against Tsarukyan instead, promising that whoever wins will face the champ next. Needless to say, this didn’t impress Oliveira’s fans and others. Yet, for Lima, it is no issue, as the team needs the fighter to enter the cage as soon as possible.
“I know many didn’t like the wedding of the fight. I know everyone wanted to see it again against Islam, but you can be sure that everything went as we wanted, and we are very happy for this fight,” Lima’s translated Portuguese post reads on Instagram. “There are many points that are very important to highlight, Charles fought last time in June last year, Islam returning only in the second half, we couldn’t go more than a year without fighting, besides other very important points that were discussed to make the best for Charles.”
In the end, while Lima acknowledged that there were some warnings about Tsarukyan being a dangerous foe for his fighter, the coach underscored that Oliveira has always been ready to take fights against anyone.
“Which easy opponent did Charles face? Go to Tapology and look at his opponents, at least the last 10,” Lima continued. “He’s never been weak and never will, and that’s why he is who he is, and that’s why he’s real, and that’s why you like him. It’s never been easy. After losing the belt for Islam, he came back and knocked out, in the 1st round, a possible belt challenger coming from 8 wins in a row.”
