Charles Oliveira feels he is being overlooked when it comes to the UFC lightweight title picture.
Ever since Khabib Nurmagomedov announced his retirement from the sport at UFC 254 this weekend, everyone has been quick to speculate about which fighters would compete for the vacant title next.
Most observers believe the planned Conor McGregor vs. Dustin Poirier fight in January will be for the vacant strap while others have called for Justin Gaethje or Tony Ferguson to be involved.
New signing Michael Chandler has even emerged as a potential option with the official UFC Instagram account posting pictures of those five in a recent post about things getting interesting in the lightweight division.
One notable absentee, of course, was Oliveira who tagged UFC president Dana White and matchmaker Sean Shelby and made his case for a fight with Poirier.
“And I? I’m ready, I come from seven victories in a row and only Poirier and I are coming from the victory of all these fighters who posted. I am ready, I deserve this chance, you will not regret it.”
As stated by Oliveira, he is on a seven-fight winning streak with his most recent outing being an impressive submission win over Kevin Lee at UFC Brasilia in March earlier this year. Despite that victory and his overall win streak, “Do Bronx” is only ranked No. 6 in the lightweight rankings and seemingly not in the title picture.
And while a Poirier fight would certainly be an enticing one, the chances are it is highly unlikely. Perhaps a lightweight tournament would sort matters out?