VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Dana White would like to see Charles Oliveira, UFC Lightweight Champion Islam Makhachev.
Oliveira (34-9 MMA, 22-9 UFC) finished off Neil Dariusz (22-5-1 MMA, 16-5-1 UFC) by a round 1 TKO in the co-main event UFC 289 this past Saturday at Rogers Arena.
Although Makhachev (24-1 MMA, 13-1 UFC) recently scored a dominant showing by Oliveira last October at UFC 280, Oliveira’s performance was impressive enough for White to be considered one of the first in the title race.
“He looked like a world-class player tonight, and I’m excited for him and Islam to fight again,” White told MMA Junkie and other reporters at a post-fight press conference. “It’s the logical thing. I’ll tell you on Tuesday. Let’s not play games: This fight makes sense. This is the fight that needs to happen, and I’m excited to see it again.”
Makhachev didn’t seem too enthusiastic about the prospect of an Oliveira W. rematch I got hit in “Do Bronx” after the fight. While White would like to see Makhachev and Oliveira take things back, he hasn’t definitively said it will happen next. Makhachev is expected to next defend his title at UFC 294 on October 22 in Abu Dhabi.
“There are a lot of things that need to be taken into account in the upcoming fight,” White said. “I’m sitting here talking to you about him right now, and I don’t even know what’s wrong with him. He’s in medicine. I don’t know where he is, I don’t know what’s planned for the summer. The list goes on and on with things that affect how fights are made. But here I am telling you Now it’s a fight I’d like to see again.”
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