It has been two months since Charles Oliveira was stripped of his lightweight title at UFC 274 for missing weight, and there are fighters chomping at the bit to fight for the vacant title.
Do your thing, bro
On Wednesday, Michael Chandler took to his Instagram story to come up with the bright idea of him fighting for the vacant lightweight title while Oliveira waits for the Conor McGregor fight. Chandler said he would fight Islam Makhachev for the belt.
“Hey Charles, do your thing, bro,” Chandler said. “Wait until Conor comes back. Do your thing, you know what, you deserve it. On a couple fight win streak, smashing through everybody. Why don’t you sit out, wait for Conor to come back.”
“I’ll keep the division warm, I’ll keep the division going. I’ll fight Islam next. I’ll fight Islam next for the title, and then whenever you get your so-called ‘superfight,’ do your thing, get it out of your system, then you can come back to our division. See you at the top.”
Makhachev agreed with him as he replied to Chandler on Twitter a few hours later.
“Easy money…title is the goal, no matter who. let’s go @MikeChandlerMMA.”
Easy money…title is the goal, no matter who. let’s go @MikeChandlerMMA @ufc https://t.co/8SOQxTSkfF
— Makhachev Islam (@MAKHACHEVMMA) July 6, 2022
The whole reason Chandler is bringing this up is Oliveria really wants to fight McGregor, which he does deserve after the run he has been on.
If a vacant title is brought in, it wouldn’t be the first time Chandler has fought for a vacant title. In his second UFC fight, he challenged Oliveira for the vacant title at UFC 272.
While all signs seem to be leading Oliveira vs. Makhachev later this year, MMA is a wild sport, and anything can happen.
