Add Charles Oliveira to the list of fighters interested in competing at the highly anticipated UFC event at the White House on June 14.
The former lightweight champion rematches Max Holloway for the “BMF” belt tonight in the main event of UFC 326 in Las Vegas, and said during a recent Q&A session with fans in Brazil that he wants a short fight to make sure he’s able to turnaround and be part of the historic White House card.
“I don’t know what round [I’ll win] or how it’ll go, I just want it to be quick,” Oliveira said (h/t Canal Encarada). “I don’t want it to take long, especially because we have this dream of fighting at the White House. The faster it is, the better. But the most important thing is that our hand is raised at the end.”
Oliveira wants a chance to reclaim lightweight gold with a victory over Holloway in March, but the timing might not work in his favor since 155-pound champion Ilia Topuria is expected to take on interim titleholder Justin Gaethje later this year.
That won’t distract Oliveira from his immediate goal, which is beating Holloway to strap the BMF championship around his waist. Asked by a fan if he would be willing to trade with Holloway in his “10-second moment,” which Gaethje fell victim to in a past BMF title bout, Oliveira isn’t too worried about it.
“There’s no 10 seconds [at Chute Boxe], it’s an hour and a half of death training,” Oliveira said. “You have no idea what that’s like. Ten seconds, thirty seconds, it won’t make any difference to me. Our team is Chute Boxe Diego Lima, one of the biggest teams in the world, and over there it’s where the child cries and the mother can’t do anything about it.”
Oliveira has knocked out four men in the UFC, including Michael Chandler and Beneil Dariush, but his main weapon is grappling. No UFC fighter has scored more submissions than Oliveira inside the octagon, an impressive 17 tapouts, and “do Bronx” said Holloway, although well-rounded and experienced, wouldn’t dare to invite him to the ground.
“I think Max saw the video of me training that, a playful moment where I pointed to the ground and we started throwing down, and he played that game on the other side [posting grappling videos],” Oliveira said. “If the fight stays standing, I have the firepower to knock him out. My team is Chute Boxe Diego Lima. If he calls me out at the start of the round, the middle, the end, it doesn’t matter, I’m ready. But I’m absolutely certain he’ll never invite me to the ground. That I’m sure of. I can trade strikes, he can’t grapple me.”
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