Charles Oliveira: I've been asking for a fight with Conor McGregor

Mandatory Credit: Buda Mendes - Zuffa LLC

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu standout, Charles 'Do Bronx' Oliveira has steadily established himself as one of the most threatening contenders at lightweight for some time now. He's featured in the Octagon an incredible twenty-six times but has flourished into a legitimate challenger at 155-pounds over the previous two-years.

With seven straight victories and seven stoppages to booth - Oliveira has secured the #8 rank at lightweight. His most recent falter has come against sharp striking talent, Paul Felder back in late 2017, but in recent outings, he's displayed a real grit and will to survive some tricky moments - something which abandoned him early in his career.

Wins over Clay Guida, Christos Giagos, Jim Miller, David Teymur, Nik Lentz, Jared Gordan, and a statement submission of former interim lightweight title challenger, Kevin Lee recently, the last fight on his deal which lapsed in March, has solidified Oliveira as a challenger to be reckoned with.

In terms of his next outing, Oliveira has his eyes firmly glued on a potential tie with former two-weight world champion, 'The Notorious' Conor McGregor - a matchup he's been calling for, for some time. McGregor recently snapped a fifteen-month hiatus from the Octagon in January, besting a former opponent of Oliveria, 'Cowboy' Cerrone in just forty-seconds. Given the current lie of the land at 155-pounds, Oliveira has juggled an interesting meeting with McGregor, as well as potential rematches against the aforementioned, Cerrone and Felder.

Speaking with MMA Fighting reporter, Guilherme Cruz, Oliveira spoke of the current state of the lightweight division, which according to him, is quite shy in regards to potential suitors for a meeting.

"[It] looks like Dustin Poirier will fight that skinny guy, Dan Hooker, so the only ones left are Conor McGregor, Donald Cerrone, and Paul Felder," Oliveira explained. "Since (Donald) Cerrone was one of the last fights I lost, who knows? I've been asking for a fight with Conor McGregor for a while, but if it doesn't happen, we'll see."

A rematch with Felder may be more of a viable option for Oliveira - with the Philadelphia native dropping a hugely-close decision defeat to Dan Hooker at UFC Fight Night Auckland in February - his first lightweight blemish in six outings. As for another re-run, against Cerrone, that one is on ice for the time being. The veteran former title challenger is scheduled to feature at UFC 249 on May 9th. as he takes on former WEC and UFC lightweight best, Anthony Pettis in a welterweight rematch of their 2013 meeting.

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