The battle lines are drawn. With Belal Muhammad losing the welterweight championship, Islam Makhachev has now decided to move up in weight. As a result, his lightweight title remains vacant. This paved the way for Ilia Topuria to get his much desired shot to the belt. And standing in his way is the Brazilian icon, Charles Oliveira. And while the hype is slowly building up, Ali Abdelaziz thinks otherwise.
Speaking about how good an opponent Oliveira is, Ali Abdelaziz stated that there were much better athletes. Abdelaziz also said that Oliveira has lost 2 of his last 4 fights. On the contrary, fighters like Justin Gaethje have a 3-1 win loss record in their last few fights.
“Charles Oliveira is 2-2 in his last 4 fights.Justin Gaethje is 3-1 in his last 4 fights. Gaethje gave up his title shot, stepped in during International Fight Week against Max Holloway, and KO’d Dustin Poirier,” said Abdelaziz.
Ali Abdelaziz says Oliveira is not the toughest fight for Ilia, and that Gaethje and Arman are more deserving of a title shot.
"Charles Oliveira is 2-2 in his last 4 fights. Justin Gaethje is 3-1 in his last 4 fights. Gaethje gave up his title shot, stepped in during… pic.twitter.com/cUD66GyAVf
— Red Corner MMA (@RedCorner_MMA) May 16, 2025
And not only Gaethje, Arman Tsarukyan could also have been a suitable candidate to challenge Topuria. Finally, concluding his statement, Abdelaziz stated that Topuria will, most probably, rout through Oliveira easily. Meanwhile, despite the negative narrative from Abdelaziz, Charles Oliveira looks utterly confident.
Charles Oliveira Looks Ready To Challenge Ilia Topuria
Charles Oliveira us utterly excited to get an opportunity to fight for the lightweight championship. In a recent interaction on ‘MMA Today,’ Oliveira stated how his team has been elated on hearing the news. The Brazilian mentioned how his team yelled and jumped in the air after hearing the news. However, as far as the bout was concerned, Oliveira vowed to take back his lightweight title.
“Everyone started yelling, the kid screaming. I grabbed the phone, saw thousands of messages, and went straight to Diego [Charles’s coach]. Let’s go — 46 days for this belt to return where it should’ve never left. We’re more than ready and prepared for this fight. I’ll go all in, fulfill my promise, and get that belt,” Oliveira said.
Charles Oliveira Describes His Reaction to Receiving the News About the Lightweight Title Fight
"Everyone started yelling, the kid screaming. I grabbed the phone, saw thousands of messages, and went straight to Diego [Charles's coach]. Let's go — 46 days for this belt to… pic.twitter.com/C70qCnGjPm
— Red Corner MMA (@RedCorner_MMA) May 14, 2025
Thus, with the situation looking quite interesting, it now remains to be seen how things pan out in the future.
Also Read: Ilia Topuria Mocks Islam Makhachev, Vows To Chase Lightweight Gold At UFC 317 In Bold New Claim