There’s no stopping Charles Oliveira.
“Do Bronx” continued his stunning stretch of success on Saturday, submitting Kevin Lee in the third round of the UFC Brasilia main event. It marked the 30-year-old Brazilian’s seventh straight win, all by knockout or submission.
Lee entered the bout ranked in the top-10 of the UFC’s official rankings and Oliveira feels that he not only claimed his spot, but put himself into position for a future crack at the lightweight title.
“I’m ready to fight for it now,” Oliveira said at a post-fight scrum via a translator. “I think one more fight. There’s not much I can say, I don’t leave it in the hands of the judges. I knock out or I submit. It’s my time. It’s a new history. It’s a new Charles.”
In the past, Oliveira’s name came up in negative headlines as often as it did positive ones. While he has been one of the UFC’s most spectacular fight finishers since making his debut in 2010, his resume has also been plagued by inconsistent slumps and multiple weight misses when he fought at 145 pounds.
Now firmly entrenched in the 155-pound division, Oliveira knows where he stands. His win over Lee was the last fight on his current UFC contract, and he’s optimistic that his winning streak— not to mention tying Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone for the most finishes in UFC history— will help him in negotiations and in his pursuit of a world title.
“I want to break records,” Oliveira said. “I think the UFC needs to value me and they are valuing me. They gave me this big opportunity to fight here 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.”
“I think I’ll have another fight before the belt,” he later added. “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.”
Oliveira declined to name who exactly in the top-5 he would like to face, but he was receptive when asked if he’d be open to facing former two-division champion Conor McGregor.
“I would fight McGregor in any weight, no problem,” Oliveira said. “It would be a good fight, I’d really like to fight him. It could be at 155 or 170, it doesn’t matter.”
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