Charles Oliveira to Fight Arman Tsarukyan at UFC 300

Charles Oliveira has lined up his next opponent…

The 34-year-old  Brazilian professional mixed martial artist and third degree black belt Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner, a former lightweight champion, will look to solidify himself as the division’s next title challenger against Arman Tsarukyan at UFC 300 in April, per UFC CEO Dana White.

Charles OliveiraThe UFC has not announced a main event for UFC 300, but White has teased that it will be one of the best lineups in recent years.

The addition of Oliveira and Tsarukyan is significant.

The winner of the 155-pound contest will face defending champion Islam Makhachev this summer, according to White.

Oliveira (34-9) was supposed to challenge Makhachev in October but was forced to withdraw from their scheduled bout at UFC 294 due to a cut suffered in training.

The Brazilian lost his title to Makhachev in October 2022, but then earned a rematch by knocking out Beneil Dariush in July. Despite his loss to Makhachev just two fights ago, Oliveira is still the No. 1-ranked lightweight contender, with previous title wins against Justin GaethjeDustin Poirier and Michael Chandler.

Tsarukyan (21-3) has been a sleeper of the lightweight division for years. Born in Armenia and fighting out of Russia, Tsarukyan is 8-2 in the UFC. He made his UFC debut against Makhachev on short notice in 2019 and lost by unanimous decision.

He’s been relatively dominant since, though, and is coming off a 64-second knockout of Dariush in a main event slot in December.

Makhachev (25-1) has stated publicly that he will defend his belt against anyone but would prefer to avoid rematches. The Dagestani champ fought twice in 2023, defeating featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski twice. It would appear he’s due for at least one more rematch in 2024, having already beaten Oliveira and Tsarukyan previously.

White is expected to announce more bouts for UFC 300 this week. Welterweight champion Leon Edwards has already announced he intends to defend his belt on the card, although the UFC has not made that official.

Charles Oliveira to Fight Beneil Dariush in Lightweight Battle at UFC 288

Charles Oliveira is returning to the Octagon

The 33-year-old Brazilian professional mixed martial artist and Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner, a former UFC lightweight champion, will face top contender Beneil Dariush in May.

Charles OliveiraThe UFC hasn’t officially announced the 155-pound bout, but Oliveira referred to it as official on social media, and ESPN sources say Dariush’s side has agreed.

The lightweight fight will take place on May 6 at an event that is expected to be a UFC 288 pay-per-view.

Oliveira (33-9) hasn’t fought since a third-round submission loss to current lightweight champion Islam Makhachev in October. That fight came under unique circumstances in that it was technically for the vacant lightweight title, after Oliveira surrendered the title this past May after missing weight for a defense against Justin Gaethje.

Although the Brazilian wasn’t the official champ when he fought Makhachev, the sport widely viewed him as such until the loss. Prior to the defeat, Oliveira had won 11 in a row.

Dariush (22-4-1) will take an eight-fight win streak into the contest in May. The 33-year-old has a strong case for a title shot now, but he has a history of seeking fights to remain active rather than wait for specific opportunities. Dariush would likely assert himself as the clear No. 1 contender at lightweight with a win. He has never fought Makhachev.

bantamweight title fight between Aljamain Sterling and Henry Cejudo is slated to headline UFC 288. The UFC has not announced a venue for the date.

Charles Oliveira to Defend UFC Lightweight Title Against Justin Gaethje 

Charles Oliveira is going back on the defense…

The 32-year-old Brazilian professional mixed martial artist and Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner, the reigning UFC lightweight champion, will seek his second title defense against Justin Gaethje at UFC 274 on May 7, UFC president Dana White has told ESPN.

Charles Oliveira The UFC is working on finalizing the 155-pound title fight shortly. The pay-per-view event now includes two title fights.

Brazilian light heavyweight champion Glover Teixeira will face Jiri Prochazka on the same date.

The UFC has not announced an official venue. It had considered holding it in Brazil, but the card is now expected to take place in the U.S.

Oliveira (32-8) is coming off a spectacular year in 2021. He won the vacant title by knocking out Michael Chandler in the second round of an exhilarating title fight in May, and finished off the calendar year with a comeback submission victory over Dustin Poirier for his first title defense.

Gaethje (23-3) has been waiting for another crack at UFC gold since former champion Khabib Nurmagomedov retired in October 2020. Gaethje, of Arizona, challenged Nurmagomedov for the title in the final fight of Nurmagomedov’s career. His record made him worthy of fighting for the vacant title right away, but he was forced to pick up one more win before earning the shot.

That win came against Chandler in November at UFC 268 at Madison Square Garden, where Gaethje won the bout via decision.

Paulo Costa to Take On Defending Champion Israel Adesanya in UFC Middleweight Title Fight

Paulo Costa is getting his title chance…

Israel Adesanya will defend his middleweight title against the 29-year-old Brazilian mixed martial artiston September 19, according to ESPN.

Paulo Costa

This weekend, Costa tweeted: “The fight is on folks!” News of the fight was first reported by Combate.

The fight, which will take place at UFC 253, doesn’t have a location yet. It probably will take place in either Las Vegas or Abu Dhabi, but the promotion hasn’t finalized those plans just yet because of the coronavirus pandemic, sources said.

Originally, Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Justin Gaethje was targeted for September 19. Though no official determination has been made regarding that fight, sources say the current plan is to headline the card with Adesanya vs. Costa and then do Nurmagomedov vs. Gaethje for the lightweight title later in the fall.

Adesanya (19-0) successfully defended the middleweight title for the first time in March when he defeated Yoel Romero via unanimous decision. That fight was supposed to be against his bitter rival, Costa, however, Costa was forced out of the fight after suffering a torn left biceps.

Costa (13-0), most recently defeated Romero via unanimous decision in August 2019.

The duo have been entangled in a war of words since before Adesanya won the middleweight title in October.

The fight will mark just the second time in UFC history that two undefeated males fight for an undisputed title. The first time was back in 2008 when champion Rashad Evans defended the light heavyweight title against Lyoto Machida at UFC 98.