UFC BMF champion Charles Oliveira called for a rematch against new UFC lightweight champion Justin Gaethje following UFC Freedom 250.
Gaethje finished Ilia Topuria via fourth-round TKO due to corner stoppage at UFC Freedom 250 to become the new UFC lightweight champion of the world.
Now, Oliveira is calling for a rematch for not only Gaethje’s lightweight belt but also Oliveira’s BMF title.
Charles Oliveira Calls out Justin Gaethje
Taking to his social media the day after Gaethje’s historic win at the White House over Topuria, Oliveira politely requested a rematch against Gaethje with both the lightweight and BMF titles on the line.
“#BMF and #UFC lightweight belt – let’s make history Deal? Winner takes all… @Justin_Gaethje,” Oliveira wrote on his X.
Oliveira and Gaethje first met at UFC 274 in May 2022. Oliveira was the lightweight champion at the time, but he lost his belt on the scale when he weighed in a tick over the maximum lightweight title limit of 155 lbs. Gaethje was still eligible to win the belt, and it looked like early on in the fight that he might get the job done when he knocked Oliveira down. But “Do Bronxs” was able to rally and come back to defeat Gaethje later in the first round with a slick submission.
Now, four years later, Oliveira wants to run it back with his BMF title on the line that he won against Max Holloway in his last bout at UFC 326, with Gaethje putting his newly minted lightweight belt on the line, making it essentially a double title fight for all the marbles.
Who Should Justin Gaethje Fight Next?
Taking a look at the UFC lightweight rankings, the fighter who makes the most sense to fight for the lightweight belt next is Arman Tsarukyan, who has been waiting several years now to get a title shot at 155 lbs.
However, since Oliveira holds the BMF title, it’s possible that Gaethje would be more interested in this fight because it would allow him to recapture the BMF belt that he once held before he was brutally knocked out by Holloway at UFC 300.
Ultimately, the UFC matchmakers will decide who they believe should be next in line for a lightweight title shot. However, Gaethje’s decision to potentially retire from MMA could throw a wrench into that, as he has said he is considering hanging up his gloves in the wake of picking up the biggest win of his Hall of Fame career to date when he finished Topuria via TKO.
The UFC has to wait to see what Gaethje wants to do next, and they won’t rush him into deciding after he just put on one of the greatest performances of all time against Topuria at UFC Freedom 250.
But if Gaethje decides that he wants to fight again, then it will be interesting to see if he decides that Tsarukyan should be the next one in line to fight for the belt as the top contender, or if the champ prefers a rematch with Oliveira instead.
Charles Oliveira Calls Out Justin Gaethje for Rematch