Charles Oliveira isn’t ruling out a return to the featherweight division.
Oliveira last fought back in Nov. 2016 against Ricardo Lamas. The fight was set to be a featherweight bout, but “do Bronx” failed to make weight. It was the fourth time Oliveira failed to make the 145-pound limit. He lost the bout by second-round submission.
On April 8, Oliveira will return to the lightweight division to take on Will Brooks at UFC 210. Despite moving back up, “do Bronx” isn’t ready to fully commit to another 155-pound run. He told MMAJunkie.com that whatever happens after the fight is in God’s hands:
“Those who watched the fight (with Pettis) saw it was very even. I traded blows, I did work on the ground, I ended up making a mistake at the end and exposing my neck. But those who saw the fight saw it was back-and-forth. It could have gone either way in a decision. And unfortunately, after that, in my fight with Ricardo Lamas in Mexico, I took it on less than 20 days notice. Everyone knows there’s a lot of altitude there, and it ended up making it very hard to make the weight. I didn’t make weight, but we were doing a great fight. I think I was winning both rounds, but I ended up making the same mistake I did with Pettis, with my neck, and he ended up catching it. Right now, my plan is Will Brooks. Beating him and getting my hand raised at the end. The future belongs to God. Then we’ll see what happens. Contract renewal, (we’ll) see if we’re going up or down. Right now, I’m focused on this fight. I really want to win this fight to show the fans and the UFC that I deserve to be in the best promotion in the world.”
