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A darkhorse candidate has emerged to be Conor McGregor’s next opponent, and this lightweight contender has been on a serious tear as of late. Brazil’s Charles Oliveira continued his stunning stretch of dominant wins over the weekend by submitting Kevin Lee in the third round of the UFC Brasilia main event. That gave the 30-year-old his seventh straight victory and tied the fighter for first place on the UFC’s all-time finishes list with Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone at 16.
After scoring the decisive win over Lee on Saturday night in Brazil, Oliveira revealed during the media scrum per MMA Fighting that he was both ready and willing to be McGregor’s next opponent.
“I would fight McGregor in any weight, no problem,” Oliveira said per MMA Fighting. “It would be a good fight, I’d really like to fight him. It could be at 155 or 170, it doesn’t matter.”
McGregor defeated Cerrone at UFC 246 in January in a 40-second drubbing that proved the Irish superstar was back to top form. The Irishman is currently ranked No. 3 in the UFC’s 155-pound lightweight division. Oliveira is ranked No. 13.
While Oliveria is a longshot candidate to nab the lucrative bout against McGregor, he’s also one of the hottest fighters in the UFC. Moreover, Oliveria is another ranked lightweight who would be willing to face McGregor in the 170-pound welterweight division.
Oliveria Seeking Huge Fights
Oliveira’s win streak has the fighter thinking big.
With or without McGregor, the 30-year-old believes his seven-fight win streak has placed the fighter in a great spot in 2020. During that same media scrum per MMA Fighting, Oliveria revealed he believes his future is bright.
“I want to break records,” Oliveira said per MMA fighting. “I think the UFC needs to value me and they are valuing me. They gave me this big opportunity to fight here (in Brazil) and I fought well. I always come in different. A different Charles comes in every time. A Charles that wants to fight and win and become the champion.”
Still, Oliveira doesn’t expect an immediate title shot. He’s willing to wait and see what happens with UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov’s next title defense against top-rated contender Tony Ferguson, but also indicated he’d be waiting inside the Octagon and facing a top opponent.
“I think I’ll have another fight before the belt,” Oliveira said per MMA Fighting. “Ferguson’s fighting Khabib, so that’s gonna happen soon and I’m gonna end up having another fight before. They’re not gonna give me that fight right away, I hope to fight a top-5, but my coaches will decide that.”
Might Oliveira land the megafight against McGregor? It’s far more likely to be against someone else in the division, but Oliveira has definitely fought himself into that possibility.
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