Featured Image Credit: Getty
Topics: UFC, Conor McGregor
Nasir Jabbar
Conor McGregor has been called out to a huge money fight at the UFC White House event by a top contender.
McGregor hasn't fought in the UFC since July 2021 when he suffered a first-round defeat to Dustin Poirier.
He was scheduled to face Michael Chandler at UFC 303 last year until he was forced to withdraw due to an injury sustained in his training camp.
McGregor is hellbent on returning to action against Chandler, having coached against him on The Ultimate Fighter.
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But a new name has entered the mix to welcome the 'Notorious' back to the UFC.
Charles Oliveira, who faces Mateusz Gamrot in the main-event of UFC Rio on Saturday, wants a piece of McGregor and his reasoning is simple.
He admitted money is the motivation behind his call out of the Irishman.
"Financial [reason]. I just said I’m the most truthful one here," he explained at the UFC Rio media day.
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"My history wasn’t manufactured, my history is the way it is. I won’t change my way of speaking."
Oliveira added: "Why the desire to fight Conor? Finances.
"How much money you think that would generate? How much money would that bring to everyone’s pockets? It’s a lot of money.
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"We’re talking about a lot of money. So why? That’s the truth."
Oliveira is one of the biggest names in Brazilian MMA given his legendary UFC career.
He has been with the promotion since 2010 and won the UFC lightweight title in 2021 when he stopped Chandler to claim the vacant championship.
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Oliveira has won an impressive 23 wins inside the famed Octagon, beating the likes of Justin Gaethje, Beneil Dariush and Poirier. He has 20 finishes - the most in UFC history.
The 35-year-old hasn't fought since his first-round defeat to Ilia Topuria, but a win over Gamrot could see him enter the sweepstakes to face McGregor.
McGregor could be swayed to fight 'Do Bronx' instead of Chandler considering his ranking (No.4) in the UFC lightweight division.
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A hypothetical win over Oliveira would put him in line for a shot at UFC gold. Beating Chandler, who is ranked outside the top ten, wouldn't do the same for his career.