What’s next for Charles Oliveira? The former UFC lightweight champion has been out of action since his loss to Arman Tsarukyan at UFC 300 in April, which was a lightweight title eliminator bout. Despite a close-fought battle, Oliveira lost the bout via a split decision, which has now raised a lot of speculation about his future in the 155 lbs division. Notably, he also came up short against the champion, Islam Makhachev, in their clash at UFC 280 back in 2022. But now Oliveira might be back in Dana White‘s “greatest live sporting event in the history of combat sports.” But that is not the only one part of the excitement.

If rumors are to be believed, the UFC might be looking to set up a clash between Oliveira and a former title challenger at featherweight, who recently indicated that he had already received an offer from the promotion for a chance to fight at ‘Noche UFC’ at ‘The Sphere’!

A recent post by ‘Almighty Fighting Championship’ shared on Reddit by a user read,  “BREAKING: Charles Oliveira vs Brian Ortega has allegedly been signed for UFC 306 at The Sphere, in Las Vegas!”. Notably, before the fallout of his fight against Diego Lopes at UFC 303 due to ‘T-City’ suffering from a fever, Ortega had revealed to MMAjunkie, “We talked about fighting on September 14, at the Sphere, I said yes to it, they said yes to it and we all got excited and that was kind of in the works… Yes (we had a name), but I can’t say it because it might still happen and I hope it does.” If Ortega’s hope materializes, then it will fulfill a wish he has probably harbored for long.

Brian Ortega currently competes in featherweight, but he has visualized lightweight to be his place for a long time. In UFC on ABC 3 media day, back in 2022, Ortega had stated that he eventually wanted to go up there. In the same conversation, speaking on fighting Oliveira, Ortega had said, “To share the octagon with anyone on that skill level, for me, would be an honor. I think people took it disrespectfully, but as a fighter and as a competitor, I want to test myself against the best.” Indeed, it would be a battle of the best. Do you know why?

The two fighters are considered to have some of the best jiu-jitsu skills in the sport. And their records speak for them. Charles Oliveira is a third-degree BJJ black belt and arguably the best submission expert in the UFC. He has the most submission wins in the UFC’s history (16), most finishes, (20), and most bonuses (19). Rarely any fighter in the UFC can match Oliveira’s arsenal of submission techniques. On the other hand, Ortega has his own stronghold.

Ortega is a BJJ black belt who is well known for his grappling abilities. His choking out opponents is literally dreadful. Want a proof? Back in 2017, in the UFC Fresno main event, Ortega was up against Cub Swanson. Swanson came into the fight with a 4-fight winning streak and was looking to extend that. Despite going strong initially, he fell prey to Ortega’s deadly guillotine choke. Later on, Swanson had said about it, “I felt like I was going to die.” The weight class scenario also seems to be making sense for the fight.

Speaking to MMAjunkie, the fighter had said, “They told that my weight class had no one really that they wanted me to fight. They didn’t want me to fight contenders and stuff, so I decided to move to 155.” The featherweight division is currently stacked with fighters like Ilia Topuria and Max Holloway, among others, and there is not much scope for Ortega to make a mark. In his words, “There’s no title fight for me anytime soon” and the same has prompted him to change his weight class. Let us now look at the lightweight division.

The no.1 title contender in the division is currently Arman Tsarukyan. But he’s been dealing with the aftermath of an altercation with a fan that happened during his UFC 300 walk-out. As such, the NSAC (Nevada State Athletic Commission) leveled a fine and banned him from competition for nine months, which meant that he would be out till the beginning of 2025.

It was, however, later revealed that the suspension would be reduced to 6 months if Tsarukyan chose to participate in the filming of an NSAC-approved anti-bullying PSA, which the UFC fighter had agreed to take part in. Tsarukyan is also determined to get his shot against Islam Makhachev as he shared in an interview with Red Corner MMA, “No, they won’t (make me wait) because we have a verbal agreement that I’m fighting for the title. I don’t know if (Islam) was told that but they told me I’m next in line.”

With all that in mind, it is not completely unexpected for the UFC to set up a fight between Oliveira and Ortega because of a lack of fresh matchups in the 155 lbs. Division for ‘Do Bronx’. Meanwhile, some drama is brewing in the welterweight. 

‘Chaos’ is ready to hand Oliveira the “biggest fight” he can get   

The Brazilian has been put on notice by ‘Chaos’ who’d be willing to welcome Oliveira in the new weight class. Colby ‘Chaos’ Covington has kept up his usual antics, even as he has been out of action since UFC 296 in 2023, after losing to Leon Edwards in his third attempt at the UFC welterweight title. After Oliveira’s close split decision loss to Arman Tsarukyan at UFC 300, he hinted at the possibility of moving up. This sparked immediate interest from Covington, who didn’t waste any time calling out the Brazilian fighter.

In a candid interview with Submission Radio, Covington threw down the gauntlet as he stated, “He’s another one of those guys with baseless words,  said all these things, ‘I want big legacy fights, I want to go up to 170.’ Well, here’s your chance, Charles Oliveira. I’m the biggest fight you can get.””

It remains to be seen what the future holds for the two fighters as rumors about Oliveira’s fight at ‘The Sphere’ may put a damper on Covington’s call-out. But Covington added more fuel to the fire by saying in his interview, “There’s nothing left for you at 155. All these other guys they’re trying to match you up with are complete nobodies.”

What are your thoughts on the possibility of Charles Oliveira taking on Brian Ortega at ‘Noche UFC’ at The Sphere? Or is there a chance he can take on Colby Covington instead and move up to welterweight? Let us know in the comments below.