Charles Oliveira pushing for rematch with Justin Gaethje: “I made it very clear that I was waiting”

Charles Oliveira is hoping to get the call for a second clash with Justin Gaethje.

The ending to UFC Freedom 250 marked the crowning of a new lightweight champion. Gaethje pulled off the fourth-round TKO finish over Ilia Topuria after “El Matador” failed to get off his stool for the final round. Gaethje handed Topuria his first pro MMA loss along with a broken orbital to capture the undisputed 155-pound UFC gold for the first time in his career.

Gaethje recently told Joe Rogan that he’s leaning towards sticking around as opposed to retiring. If “The Highlight” decides to return to the Octagon, Oliveira believes a rematch is in order. He told MMAFighting.com that he’d even be willing to put his BMF Championship at stake.

“I made it very clear that I was waiting for the White House event to be over so we could figure out what the next step was. Now we know,” Oliveira said. “The champion is Justin Gaethje, and I definitely want that fight. I definitely want to be next in line. And there’s nothing better than putting both belts on the line, the BMF title and the lightweight championship.”

Oliveira submitted Gaethje back in May 2022. It would’ve been a successful lightweight title defense for “do Bronxs,” but he was stripped of the gold prior to the fight after missing weight. The championship was only at stake for Gaethje. Oliveira is hoping to provide some closure on their rivalry with a rematch.

“I’m just waiting for a phone call,” Oliveira said. “They know there’s a lot at stake in this fight. There’s everything that happened with the weigh-in, the fact that I fought in his backyard and that my belt was taken from me there. There’s a lot of history behind this matchup. I have a lot of respect for him, just like I respect every opponent, but this fight has to happen. Like I posted, I’m just waiting for my phone to ring.”

Oliveira last competed back in March. He went one-on-one with Max Holloway for the BMF Championship. Oliveira ended up dominating the fight with his grappling to secure a unanimous decision win.

Do you think Charles Oliveira will get his wish and fight Justin Gaethje in a rematch, or will Arman Tsarukyan get the next crack at lightweight gold? Sound off in the comments below.