HOUSTON – [autotag]Charles Oliveira[/autotag] appear willing to oblige to a UFC title defense against [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag], but he reminded the Irishman that he has business to handle first.
Oliveira (31-8 MMA, 19-8 UFC) claimed the vacant lightweight belt on Saturday with a second-round TKO of Michael Chandler (22-6 MMA, 1-1 UFC) in the UFC 262 headliner at the Toyota Center in Houston. Minutes after the win, McGregor took to social media and made it known he was coming for the belt.
During his post-fight news conference, Oliveira responded to McGregor’s (22-5 MMA, 10-3 UFC) tweet and made it clear he had interest in the matchup, but only if “The Notorious” wins his trilogy bout with Dustin Poirier (27-6 MMA, 19-5 UFC) at UFC 264 on July 10, which is far from a foregone conclusion.
If it does happen, though, Oliveira said he would welcome McGregor to challenge him for the belt in his native Brazil.
“Conor, worry about Dustin,” Oliveira told reporters, including MMA Junkie, through an interpreter post-fight at UFC 262. “Conor, since you’re so tough: First of all, you beat Dustin, and then you come over to Brazil and I’m going to put you on your ass. First he’s got to get past Dustin. He’s one of these guys that just talks a lot. He’s got to beat Dustin first.”
Oliveira could perhaps get his wish if the stars align. McGregor has long wanted to compete in Brazil, and nearly fought Rafael dos Anjos there in June 2018.
That’s future business, though, and right now Oliveira is reveling in the moment of a historic title win. He had to go through some difficult moments in the octagon with Chandler, nearly getting finished with strikes in the first round before turning around and delivering a knockout in the opening moments of the second frame.
Oliveira said he didn’t expect an easy bout, but knew he had what it takes to overcome and get his hands on the belt in his record 28th octagon appearance.
“I knew it was going to be difficult,” Oliveira said. “He’s the cream of the crop. They brought Michael Chandler here to win. But I knew if it was in the strike department, I could strike with him, and I knew if it went down I would use my jiu-jitsu.”
Oliveira said his immediate plans are to relax and enjoy the moment. He knows there’s a queue of names chomping at the bit at 155 pounds to get their hands on the belt, and he said he’ll leave it to his team and the UFC brass to make the ultimate decision.
“I battled hard to get here. Everyone’s talking about who it’s going to be next – Poirier or Conor. I’ll leave that my manager, and I’m going to go home and rest.”
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