Charles Oliveira only wants his biggest opponent right now, and he doesn’t include Ilia Toplia on his list.
In an interview with ABC MMA, Oliveira worked on what could be next for him as he waited for his next appointment. “Do Bronx” is out of the night-winning decision battle over Michael Chandler at UFC 309 and is one of the top contenders for the 155 pound title currently being held by Islamic Makachev.
Oliveira and Makhachev were previously fighting at UFC 280. There, Makhachev wins on a two-round submission, and Oliveira wants to run it with the champion. Topuria is set to abandon his belt as soon as the current featherweight champion moves to lighter weight, but he was spoken about getting a shot at Makhachev to fight Oliveira, but Oliveira is not keen on the idea.
“I think there’s a lot,” Oliveira said in Portuguese (translated via ABC MMA). “A lot of people say a lot. But I’m looking for a title. The champion today is Islamic Makachev. So Topria is a very tough guy. He deserves all the respect of the world.
“But now, I don’t see it as a big fight. And if I’m looking for a title, well, I have to win and fight Makhachev to become champions again.”
Oliveira recently said he believes that if he fights an undefeated Topria, he can defeat Topulia by knockout.
It is not clear which of Oliveira’s recent statements bothered Toplia, but “Elmatador” went to social media to respond to Oliveira anyway, but told Oliveira to “stay quiet.”
Charles, it’s better to spend some quiet time. There is a loss of 10: 5 is a knockout, 4 is a submission, 1 is by decision. You are a competitor, but I am the champion and the father of the entire division. I haven’t come here to ask anything. Here, I am the person in charge.
Topuria aims to become a two-division champion following an 8-0 run followed by an opening his UFC career.