Charles Oliveira has already built an incredible legacy during his time in the UFC which is sure to endure long after he retires from the sport. That being said, the 35-year old is confident that he still has much more to give and he could enter a new phase of his career on Saturday night.
At UFC 309, “Do Bronx” returns in a rematch of one of the most important fights of his entire 45-fight career. He finished Michael Chandler in the second round back in 2021 to win the vacant lightweight title and now they will run it back over five rounds in the co-main event at Madison Square Garden.
Before his incredible lightweight winning streak that led to him beating Chandler and going on a great run as the champion, Oliveira suffered some fairly substantial setbacks along the way. One of those came to an elite competitor that has recently announced that lightweight will be his long-term home going forward.
BMF Champion Max Holloway is ready to leave featherweight behind for good following his recent loss to Ilia Topuria at UFC 308 last month. His performance earlier this year against Justin Gaethje proved once and for all that he can hang with the best 155-pounders in the division.
Though Oliveira is focused on beating Chandler for a second time, he’s also open to the idea of meeting Holloway in a rematch.
The two fan favorites met back in 2015 where “Blessed” got the first round finish due to an injury that the Brazilian suffered. He told MMA Fighting in a recent interview that fighting Holloway for the BMF belt is a fight that interests him due to the stakes attached.
“I’m about legacy. That’d be great. Why not? As I’m talking about [legacy], I mean, being the BMF champ would be gigantic for that.”
