Charles Oliveira won the lightweight belt at UFC 262, a title which was previously held by Khabib Nurmagomedov
After hanging up his gloves at UFC 254 in October 2020, Khabib Nurmagomedov confirmed that he was officially retired on the 18th of March, 2021.
The lightweight belt which the Russian held was vacated.
A title fight for the vacant lightweight belt was set up between Michael Chandler and Charles Oliveira at UFC 262. The fight went ahead a couple of weeks ago, and Oliveira emerged victorious via. TKO in only the second round.
The Brazilian finally got what he deserved after almost 11 years in the UFC. In doing so, he became only the second Brazilian to win a lightweight belt.
‘Do Bronx’ recently caught up with MMA Fighting in an exclusive interview. He divulged that he was asked to take shots at Khabib following his success at UFC 262.
Here is what the Brazilian had to say:
“Many people told me to wear a shirt taking shots at [Nurmagomedov] or say something about him in the end.” [Via MMA Fighting]
Khabib’s retirement is one of the most graceful retirements in the history of the sport. Following his father’s death in July 2020, he was crestfallen.
And hence he had promised his mother that he would retire after fighting Justin Gaethje at UFC 254, and wouldn’t compete without his late father by his corner.
Oliveira pointed at exactly the same thing in the interview. The Brazilian said that he would never disrespect Khabib since he deserved all the respect in the world:
“Khabib is a great champion, 29-0, and deserves all the respect in the world. He came in and was always dominant with his style, he retired because his father passed away, and he deserves more respect because of that. He swore over his father’s grave he wouldn’t fight again and if it has to be up to me to say something for him to come back, he’ll stay retired.” [via MMA Fighting]
Now that Khabib has retired, the lightweight spotlight is fully on Oliveira. He will be defending his title against the winner of Conor McGregor vs Dustin Poirier at UFC 264.
The title had eluded him for almost 11 years, he wouldn’t be giving it up that easily.
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