Charles Oliveira has Diego Lopes waiting for him in four weeks, and he still made time to put Justin Gaethje on the spot.
MMA Sucka ran the story Saturday under the headline “Charles Oliveira Puts Gaethje on the Spot Pre UFC-335.” That headline is all we have. The exact wording of whatever Oliveira said isn’t in front of us, so you won’t see it in quotation marks here, and I’m not going to make up a sentence for a guy with 17 UFC submission wins. The way the report is framed, Oliveira challenged Gaethje’s appetite for a fight between them. Treat the specifics as unconfirmed until the full words surface.
The timing is either an accident or a birthday card. Gaethje was born Nov. 14, 1988, so he turned 38 the day the story dropped.
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Oliveira (37-11) sits No. 4 in Knockout Daily’s lightweight rankings and holds the symbolic BMF title. He last fought March 7. He owns the UFC records for submission wins (17), finishes (21) and bonuses (21), so when he wants a fight, it’s worth taking seriously.
Gaethje (28-5) is the reigning UFC lightweight champion. He’s also a former BMF titleholder and became the oldest man to win the lightweight belt when he did it at 37. His last fight was June 14. As of Sept. 22 he was No. 3 on the UFC pound-for-pound list, and he holds the record for Fight of the Night bonuses with 11. Nobody has ever accused him of ducking a brawl, which is exactly why the poke lands.
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Oliveira’s own messaging this week has been a little scattered. In a clip from 209arthur’s Instagram that Championship Rounds shared, he said Islam Makhachev is the one loss he’d avenge if he could pick only one. So the grudge points one direction and the callout points another.
He also has actual business first. Oliveira and Lopes faced off for the first time Friday ahead of their UFC 335 main event, and MMA Fighting described the exchange as all respect. Championship Rounds noted Lopes looked big despite moving up from featherweight. Meanwhile, Carlos Prates was filmed vaping while he watched Oliveira train, which tells you the mood in camp isn’t exactly panicked.
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None of the Gaethje talk means anything if Lopes wins on Dec. 12. If Oliveira gets through him, the champ will have had a month to think about his answer.
