It’s no secret that Charles Oliveira wants to share the octagon with Conor McGregor. Although he’s currently on a two-fight skid, the Irishman remains one of the biggest draws in the promotion.
UFC events featuring the former lightweight champion still generate great revenue for the promotion and his opponents are also rewarded with big paychecks.
That’s why Oliveira wants to fight ‘Notorious’ down the line. ‘Do Bronx’ even said he’d prefer to fight McGregor over undefeated Russian fighter Khabib Nurmagomedov, who is currently retired.
According to the Brazilian, a fight against the Irishman guarantees a very big paycheck that he could use to secure the future of his family.
He pointed out that fighters have short careers and that they must make wise choices with respect to financial matters so that their futures are secure post-retirement. During an appearance on Brazilian podcast Flow, Oliveira said:
“Everyone says, ‘Conor is coming from a defeat.’ Okay, but how much money is he putting on my bank account? I would fight Conor anytime because everyone knows he’s going to put a lot of money in the account. Okay, ‘Khabib will come back,’ but how much money will this make? How many PPVs will this sell?” [Translated by Brazilian MMA Fighters]
Charles Oliveira doesn’t think Khabib Nurmagomedov will ever compete again
Khabib Nurmagomedov has time and again mentioned that he is happy to stay retired and doesn’t want to fight again. However, fans and the UFC brass want the Russian to step out of retirement and compete again. While many still believe that there’s a possibility of Nurmagomedov coming back, Charles Oliveira isn’t among them.
There was speculation that if Oliveira manages to beat Nurmagomedov’s friend and teammate Islam Makhachev at UFC 280, ‘The Eagle’ could return to avenge that loss.
Oliveira claimed that the UFC is interested in a potential matchup between him and Nurmagomedov down the line, but he doesn’t think the fight will ever come to fruition:
“I don’t think he’ll be back. I think this fight is going to happen now because the UFC wants him to come back but I don’t think he’ll come back.”
Nurmagomedov, however, will be in Makhachev’s corner when he takes on Charles Oliveira in Abu Dhabi later this year.
Watch the interview below: