Charles Oliveira has a plan for the top of the lightweight division, and it involves stepping in front of the man who beat him. In an interview with MMA Fighting, the former champion said a win over Diego Lopes in their BMF title fight at UFC 335 on Dec. 12 would make him the No. 1 contender at 155 pounds, ahead of Arman Tsarukyan, whether Justin Gaethje is still holding the belt or not.
He didn’t dodge the obvious problem, either. Tsarukyan owns a split-decision win over Oliveira from 2024, and the Armenian just knocked out Mauricio Ruffy in the first round in September to make his own case for a title shot. Oliveira’s counter is box office.
“I think Arman is there to fight for the title,” Oliveira said. “However, if we’re going to talk about name value, what do I think? I think I sell a lot more than Arman. So I could move ahead of Arman.”
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He also pointed to timing. According to comments relayed by reporter Laerte Viana and shared by Championship Rounds on X, Oliveira argued that fighting in December gives him the recency edge when the UFC books early 2027. “My fight will be fresher in people’s minds when they’re looking for someone to fight at the beginning of the year,” he said.
Then there’s the Gaethje question, which hangs over everything. Gaethje stopped Ilia Topuria in June on the White House lawn to unify the lightweight titles, has said he won’t fight again this year and has floated retiring as champion after 33 pro fights. Oliveira, who submitted Gaethje in 2022, doubts the money will ever look that good again. “He is not going to make more money in his next fight than he made at the White House,” he said. If Gaethje walks, Oliveira said the path is simple: him against Tsarukyan, the rematch, for the title.
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First he has to get through Lopes. Oliveira took the BMF belt from Max Holloway in March with a dominant performance, but he leaned on grappling to do it, and that drew criticism from fighters, fans and Dana White. Lopes, who has collected seven bonuses in 10 UFC appearances against the guy with the most bonuses in UFC history, told MMA Fighting he hopes Oliveira comes in overaggressive to make up for it. Lopes moved up after knocking out Steve Garcia at UFC White House in June and has only one lightweight appearance on his ledger. He landed this fight after Ruffy stepped in to face Tsarukyan.
My take: Oliveira’s pitch is half sound and half salesman. The recency argument holds up fine, and “I sell more” is how title shots actually get handed out in this company, which is why I’d never bet against him getting the call. But the man he wants to leapfrog beat him, then needed one round to flatten Ruffy, while Gaethje sits on a belt he may never defend. If Oliveira beats Lopes, Oliveira vs. Tsarukyan 2 is the fight to make no matter who’s holding the strap. And if Gaethje is still dithering on Dec. 13, the UFC should stop waiting on him.
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