Charles Oliveira on Colby Covington Challenge: 'If It Makes Sense, Why Not'

Colby Covington’s recent callout has Charles Oliveira’s attention.

Covington recently turned down a potential matchup against welterweight up-and-comer Ian Garry, who has been chasing him for several months now. “Chaos” instead called for a “legacy fight” against former lightweight champ Oliveira, who has admittedly been contemplating a move up to welterweight for his next outing.

As long as the Ultimate Fighting Championship is on board with it, Oliveira is open to the possibility.

“Man, in reality it’s like I said, it’s sitting down and looking at legacy, history, values,” Oliveira recently told Ag.Fight “You have to sit down. When I woke up in the morning, thousands of people were sending me messages. I sent it to Diego [Lima] and Diego said it too, I see what you think. I said, ‘Diego, just sit down, talk, think, see what’s good, see what the UFC thinks about it. It’s not just what Charles thinks, it’s about what the UFC thinks about it.

[Colby] is a talkative guy, he’s a guy who talks a lot, so let’s see. Why not?... For sure [I’ll be willing to move up]. If it makes sense, if it’s something good for me, why not?”

However, a fight with Covington isn’t the only possibility that intrigues Oliveira.

"Now it's time for my managers, Diego Ribas and Jorge Patino, to work hard with UFC to see what makes sense,” he said. “Some suggested me to be a reserve fighter of [Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler at UFC 303]. Others liked the idea of a fight with [Max] Holloway for the BMF title. That would be great too since it would be a rematch of a fight that happened in 2015, and I got hurt in the first round and could not continue. Right now, I´m just waiting.”

One possibility that “do Bronx” won’t consider is a matchup against Renato Carneiro, who recently challenged the former lightweight champ.

“I respect ‘Moicano’ a lot,” he said. “But my focus in the division now is above me in the rankings.”

Oliveira is coming off a split-decision loss to Arman Tsarukyan at UFC 300, a bout that could have earned the Brazilian another shot at 155-pound gold if he had been victorious.