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Featured Image Credit: Alamy & UFC
Topics: Charles Oliveira, UFC, Justin Gaethje
Daniel Marland
Charles Oliveira has been stripped of the UFC lightweight title after failing to make weight for his fight with Justin Gaethje at UFC 274.
The Brazilian has weighed half a pound over the 155lb limit and it means he'll have to relinquish the title he's held since last May.
Oliveira was given an hour to make championship weight but failed to do so. The fight will still take place, but only Gaethje will have the opportunity to win the title.
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If Oliveira wins, the title will be declared vacant.
It'll be Gaethje's second shot at the title after failing to beat Khabib Nurmagomedov in his retirement fight back in October 2020.
Nurmagomedov stopped Gaethje inside two rounds and is widely considered as one of the greatest fighters in MMA history.
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'The Highlight' fancies his chances against Oliveira and doesn't think he's the same class of fighter as Nurmagomedov.
"They’re definitely not the same athlete," Gaethje told MMA Fighting earlier this week.
"And Charles certainly is not more dangerous than Khabib. His ability to take damage is not the same, proven through the times we’ve seen him fight. All my criticism of Charles is from a kid that we were talking about, that we all watched grow, and now we’re talking about a man with confidence.
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"It’s a different person, but ultimately the same Charles is still there.
"The same Charles that fought Cub Swanson. The same Charles that fought Donald Cerrone.
"The same Charles that fought [Anthony] Pettis. Choices were made in that by him and the choice to quit was made, and I’m going to give him that choice on Saturday night, I guarantee that."
Interestingly, this could open the door for Conor McGregor to walk into a title fight upon his return.
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'The Notorious' broke his leg against Dustin Poirier in July and has been out of action ever since.
He's made no secret of his desire to hold UFC gold for the first time since 2016 and a potential interim title bout could be too lucrative for UFC president Dana White to pass up.
McGregor retweeted a video on Friday which said: "Conor McGregor on his way to save #UFC274 main event if Charles Oliviera misses weight."