Getty Conor McGregor
Charles Oliveira earned a spectacular rear-naked choke victory over Justin Gaethje at UFC 274, and he followed up the win with a call out of Conor McGregor.
The May 7th main event at the Footprint Center in Pheonix, Arizona, didn’t make it out of the opening round. However, it was jammed full of action. Even though “Do Bronx” was dropped by Gaethje, the Brazilian ultimately bounced back with his own punishment. He hurt Gaethje on the feet and submitted him on the ground via rear-naked choke.
While speaking with UFC color commentator Joe Rogan inside the Octagon after he was declared the victor, the former 155-pound champion shared his interest in fighting the Irishman, which isn’t the first time Oliveira’s had “Notorious” in his crosshairs.
After Oliveira left the cage, McGregor took to Twitter to give his take on the UFC 274 main event. He shared a video of himself laying in bed commenting on the promotion’s “favorite parlays,” which were shared during the broadcast at the start of the PPV.
During the video, McGregor questioned why Drake bet $427,000 on Gaethje to beat Oliveira, saying “The Highlight” becomes “petrified” in grappling exchanges.
McGregor then questioned what Gaethje would do if he ended up dropping Oliveira, slamming Gaethje’s ground game. “You can definitely rescind that bet,” McGregor said in the video.
“Called it,” McGregor wrote in the tweet. “Even if he knocked him down he too shit to be able to follow him down and do anything substantial. Always Charles’s fight. Sorry @Drake should have posted. But it’s my pleasure @DraftKings, add it to my take of tonight’s winnings.”
McGregor Said He Has ‘Some Thinking to Do’ In Regards to Fighting Oliveira
McGregor then reacted to Oliveira’s challenge. Although McGregor confirmed a few months ago that he isn’t interested in cutting back down to lightweight, the Irishman said he has some “thinking to do.”
“I’m not sure I wish to cut the weight,” McGregor tweeted. “I am really enjoying being built like a refrigerator. I feel I want to fight at this size just to watch it back lol. But I’d love to fight the Brazilian, 100%! I love Brazil and I’m unbeaten against Brazil. All KO’s. I’ve some thinking to do”
Oliveira Was Stripped of the Lightweight Title After Missing Weight By Half a Pound
Do Bronx was set to enter the cage on Saturday night as the reigning 155-pound champion who was looking to make his second title defense. However, Oliveira was unable to weigh in at the championship limit of 155 pounds the day prior, hitting the scale twice at 155.5 pounds.
The lightweight belt officially became vacant at the start of the main event, and it remains vacant. If Gaethje would have won the contest, he would have become the undisputed lightweight king. Do Bronx will compete for the vacant belt in his next fight against a fellow top contender.
Oliveira’s title loss is not without controversy, however. Some fighters alleged that the hotel scale used by fighters before the official weigh-in was incorrect, showing them lighter than they actually were.
At the time of this writing, the UFC has yet to put out an official statement on the controversy.