Charles Oliveira Isn’t Rematching Islam Makhachev

Diego Lima, the manager and coach of Charles Oliveira, has disclosed that his pupil declined an instant rematch with Islam Makhachev.

Back at UFC 280 last month, Makhachev submitted Charles Oliveira in the night’s main event. Makhachev won the UFC lightweight title that Oliveira tried to win back.

Oliveira held the title of division king for two years.

Nobody was entirely sure what Charles would do next. Many had anticipated that he would at least take a break, and it now seems that’s precisely what he’s been doing.

To battle Makhachev for his title at UFC 283 in Brazil, ‘Do Bronx’ was given the option to have a short turnaround, according to information provided by his camp.

Lima recently provided an explanation for why that won’t be taking place in an interview with Super Lutas.

“When we were going to face Makhachev,” Lima said.

“We showed a lot of interest in fighting him in Rio. One week after [UFC 280], the UFC got in touch with us. They gave us the opportunity to fight [Makhachev] in Rio. They have always been really good to us. We have really good talks. It was up to us to accept or not.

“I talked it over with Charles. He’s not injured, but there’s an emotional stress. It’s way beyond physical. Charles is the only fighter that has faced all the top 5 guys within a year. Champs normally hide, they want to fight once a year. That’s not Charles, but Rio is way too close now. We prefer to give Charles a well-deserved vacation.”