Following tonight’s convincing victory against Beneil Dariush, Charles Oliveira is now aiming at going for the lightweight gold once again. Dana White also stated that an Oliveira vs. Islam Makhachev rematch would be utterly reasonable.
In Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, ‘Do Bronx’ defeated Dariush in the co-main event of UFC 289 with yet another thrilling knockout victory. By ending the Iranian fighter’s eight-fight winning streak, the Brazilian fighter made it apparent that he is back in business.
Dana White believes Oliveira vs Makhachev ‘makes sense’
Oliveira’s title loss may have led many people to start questioning the dominance of his MMA career. Even the UFC president now believes that the Brazilian and the Dagestani fighter should square off again as he proved everyone else wrong tonight.
“He looked like a world-beater tonight, and I’m excited for him and Islam to fight again. It’s the thing that makes sense. I’ll tell you on Tuesday.” Dana said.
Dana White says he's "excited" for Charles Oliveira to rematch Islam Makhachev 👀 #UFC289
"Let’s not play games, that fight makes sense, that’s the fight that should happen, and I’m excited to see it again.” pic.twitter.com/7sxTBAPjIn
— MMA Fighting (@MMAFighting) June 11, 2023
Oliveira had earlier claimed that his fight against Makhachev wasn’t all that bad and that it was simply 15 minutes of subpar performance that gave Islam the upper hand. Dana explained why the 33-year-old fighter’s demand for a rematch with Islam at this time makes perfect sense during the post-fight press conference.
“I mean, let’s not play games; that fight makes sense. That’s the fight that should happen. And I’m excited to see it again.” Dana added.
"Last time you saw 10% of me, now you saw 120% of me. The champion is going to be Charles Oliveira. You know what? Dana White, I'm the next one. You want me to fight him in his house? I'll go. I'm ready. Let's do it”—
Charles Oliveira (📷@jeffbottari) #UFC289 #espnmma #REMATCH pic.twitter.com/myJ0ClZyRi— Legionnaire Combat Sports (@Legionnairecsn) June 11, 2023
Oliveira lost the UFC Lightweight Title to Makhachev
‘Do Bronx’ had a great run in the UFC up to his fight with Islam Makhachev at UFC280, which the latter won convincingly. Oliveira’s 11-fight winning streak came to a stop and the Dagestani fighter’s lightweight reign began.
Oliveira defeated Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje within a five-month period before meeting Islam to defend his title. Makhachev, who has been in excellent form remaining undefeated in the cage in 2016, took the ultimate test of Oliveira.
Islam fought Alexander Volkanovski at the RAC Arena in Perth, Australia, in February to defend his title. The reigning champion defeated the Australian fighter to retain the gold strap and extend his winning streak.
CHARLES OLIVEIRA'S NOT GOING ANYWHERE!!@CharlesDoBronxs stops Beneil Dariush in the first at #UFC289! pic.twitter.com/OWMWlddKWL
— UFC (@ufc) June 11, 2023
Who do you think will emerge victorious in the rematch between Charles Oliveira and Islam Makhachev? Share your thoughts with us in the comment section.
