At long last, Justin Gaethje will get to square off against Charles Oliveira at UFC 274.
For months, ‘The Highlight’ has campaigned for a title shot against UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira. Gaethje has notably bashed former dual-weight champion, Conor McGregor for suggesting that he deserves a title shot. He’s also threatened to start a riot if he doesn’t get a shot at gold.
Well, it seems that towns everywhere are going to breathe a sigh of relief. According to ESPN MMA’s Brett Okamoto who broke the story, Charles Oliveira will defend his lightweight gold against Justin Gaethje on May 7th.
To top it off, ‘Do Bronx’ will get the chance to defend his title in his home country of Brazil. ‘The Highlight’ has previously noted that he would like to fight the champion in his home, and he will get his wish in May.
Oliveira will be joined on the card by his fellow Brazilian champion Glover Teixeira. He defends his light-heavyweight title against Jiri Prochazka.
OLIVEIRA VS. GAETHJE IS ON, per UFC president Dana White. Championship fight will take place May 7, location TBD. What a fight. And Still? And New? pic.twitter.com/MJv2mMaqtK
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) January 26, 2022
The fight will be the second title defense for the Brazilian. Oliveria captured UFC gold after defeating Michael Chandler to win the vacant UFC lightweight title after Khabib Nurmagomedov vacated the strap.
Oliveira followed up with a win over Dustin Poirier at UFC 269 to retain his UFC lightweight strap. He finished ‘The Diamond’ in the third round with a rear-naked choke to set up his showdown with Justin Gaethje.
Justin Gaethje on the other hand is coming off a unanimous decision victory over Michael Chandler at UFC 268 to get his chance to fight for lightweight gold. ‘The Highlight’ held a form of the lightweight championship in the past. He won interim gold with a win over Tony Ferguson in May 2020. However, he lost the interim strap in a title unification bout with Khabib Nurmagomedov later that year.
Who are you picking in this lightweight title matchup? Charles Oliveira or Justin Gaethje?