Charles Oliveira's manager: Islam Makhachev should vacate title if he moves to welterweight
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Islam Makhachev last defended his UFC lightweight title in January by tapping out last-minute replacement Renato Moicano in Los Angeles, and he has yet to sign for his next title defense. For Diego Lima, who trains and manages 155-pound contender Charles Oliveira, he has to either defend or vacate.
Makhachev is currently waiting to see what happens between welterweight champion — and his friend — Belal Muhammad on May 10, when he defends his belt against Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 315. Should Maddalena win, Makhachev could move up to challenge for the 170-pound strap.
Asked to look at the situation through UFC's point of view, not as Oliveira's manager, Lima still defended it makes sense to at least create an interim belt.
"If Makhachev goes up? Then he loses the belt," Lima told MMA Fighting. "It's like [Ilia] Topuria. I think the UFC will ask him to choose. If he says 'I'll fight' [at 170], then they have to create an interim. I can't put a whole division on hold. Personally, I think it's absurd to hold an entire division."
"When an athlete goes up, he has to either drop his belt or create an interim. When a fighter starts to take too long thinking what he will do, then it's time to create an interim. The division must move. Fighters fight a lot to get to the belt, and when they get there, they want to sit on the belt. It shouldn't be like that, man."
Oliveira's original plan after beating Michael Chandler back in November was to serve as backup plan for Makhachev vs. Arman Tsarukyan on Jan. 18, but Lima said the UFC told them there would be no backup fighter. When Tsarukyan withdrew just hours before the weigh-in, Moicano was pulled from the card to challenge for gold.
"Do Bronx" started campaigning for a rematch with Makhachev in late June, to headline UFC's traditional International Fight Week card in Las Vegas, or challenge Max Holloway for the BMF belt. Makhachev's next move is still undecided, but Holloway will instead be Dustin Poirier's final MMA opponent at UFC 318 on July 19.
The title picture gets even more confusing when you add Ilia Topuria, who vacated the featherweight title to chase lightweight glory. Makhachev publicly stated Topuria should earn a shot by beating someone at 155 pounds first, and Oliveira voiced his interest in facing Topuria if it's for an interim strap.
"I'm not Topuria's manager, but if I were, I wouldn't let my fighter vacate the belt and risk moving up for nothing," Lima said. "I would go up with a goal, with some negotiation. I don't know if that's what Topuria has done. There's a lot going on that we don't know yet."
"As for Makhachev, he's said many times before he wants to move up," he continued. "Between Charles and Makhachev there's a belt, and that's what we want to win. But first we have to get to the belt, and there are two problems there. First, Belal's fight. We don't know what will happen if Belal wins or loses. And there's also Topuria, and we don't know the negotiation they had the moment he let go of the belt and moved up a division."
