Charles Oliveira and Ilia Topuria spent the weekend trading jabs online and in interviews, but “Do Bronx” isn’t sweating the noise—he’s got his sights set on one thing, and he’s calling out the UFC brass to make it happen. The former lightweight champ dropped a fiery Instagram video, practically begging Dana White, Sean Shelby, and Hunter Campbell to pick up the phone and lock in a rematch with Islam Makhachev.
“I wanna fight on International Fight Week,” Oliveira declared, eyeing UFC 317 on June 28 in Vegas. “Makhachev wants it too. Dana, Sean Shelby, Hunter, let’s make it happen. I really want this fight. I’m coming after this belt. I want to become champion again, you know? I’ll write this story one more time. UFC, let’s make it happen. This is the fight everybody wants to see. I’m ready.” You can feel the hunger dripping off every word—this dude’s on a mission.
Oliveira’s been itching to run it back with Makhachev since getting submitted by him in October 2022 for the vacant title. Since then, he’s gone 2-1, sandwiching a razor-thin loss to Arman Tsarukyan between bonus-earning wins over Beneil Dariush and Michael Chandler. Makhachev, meanwhile, has been a buzzsaw, racking up four straight dubs against Alexander Volkanovski (twice), Dustin Poirier, and a last-minute sub, Renato Moicano. “Makhachev is saying he wants this fight, and it will definitely be a great war,” Oliveira said. “[International] Fight Week, is that the fight you want? That’s the fight you’ll get. Dana, UFC, Sean, Hunter, let’s make it happen. Call me.” He’s practically daring them to say no.
While he’s got a Plan B—maybe a BMF title scrap with Max Holloway if the Makhachev fight falls through—Oliveira’s not here for Topuria’s lightweight welcome party. Topuria got salty after Oliveira shrugged off their potential clash as “not a big fight,” firing back on social media. But “Do Bronx” isn’t fazed. “UFC and MMA have a lot of guys that talk too much,” he said in the video. “I can talk about UFC history. I’ll complete 15 years here. Record of bonuses, of submissions. A guy that breaks records? That’s me.” Boom—mic drop. With a resume like that, he’s letting his legacy do the talking while he chases that gold one more time. Ball’s in your court, UFC!
