Charles Oliveira beat Justin Gaethje at UFC 274 on Saturday night, and now former champion Khabib Nurmagomedov has told UFC who the winner's next opponent should be.
Oliveira was set to defend his UFC lightweight title against Gaethje in Arizona but on Friday afternoon the Brazilian was unable to make weight, missing it by 0.5 pounds.
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That resulted in the 32-year-old having to vacate the title, that he won by defeating Michael Chandler at UFC 262, when the belt was vacant at that point.
Oliveira then won the fight, with a first round submission, meaning the title is still up for grabs, with UFC president Dana White having already said Saturday's winner will '100 per cent' be one half of the next title fight.
That leaves his opponent open to discussion, but not for Khabib, who, believes that teammate Islam Makhachev should be next in the octagon with Oliveira.
"Dana White, you have no other choice but make Oliveira vs Islam fight in Abu Dhabi 22 October," the former champ said on Twitter.
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"Perfect date, Perfect location,Perfect opponents with perfect winning streaks 10 vs 11."
The Russian, who has been in Makhachev's corner for his fights added, "Is there really a more interesting duel in the UFC at the moment than Islam vs. Charles.
"Just bring these fighters to Abu Dhabi on October 22nd. Let the undisputed champion be determined."
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The 30-year-old has been on a tear through the lightweight division, winning 11 of his 12 fights in UFC, and putting together a streak of 10 wins in-a-row.
His last fight was at a catchweight of 160 lbs but that was just because his original opponent had to be replaced late on due to injury.
That was meant to be Beneil Dariush and he is also set to be Makhachev's next opponent, but Khabib answered thinks that fight should be skipped in favour of the title clash.
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"But then who will fight for the title?" Khabib asked when someone claimed that his teammate and Dariush should meet to decide who is the number one contender.
One person who might be able to answer that is Chandler, with the former title contender delivering an incredible kick to the face on Tony Ferguson to knock him out, earlier on Saturday night.
Chandler called out the winner of the title fight and also talked about the prospect of fighting Conor McGregor in the future, with the Irishman set to return to action at some point in the relatively near future.
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McGregor could also be a potential opponent for Oliveira, as could Dustin Poirier, despite the fact he's also recently lost to the Brazilian.
Topics: UFC, Charles Oliveira, Dana White, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Conor McGregor, Michael Chandler
Ryan Sidle