Despite never reaching the pinnacle of the pound-for-pound rankings himself, Charles Oliveira asserts that a specific fighter from UFC 320 rightfully deserves the top spot on that prestigious list.
This weekend, Charles Oliveira is set to compete, risking his future title ambitions, a little over 100 days after his devastating knockout defeat to Ilia Topuria in their lightweight championship bout earlier this summer.
The former lightweight champion, Oliveira, will return to his home country to headline UFC Rio, facing Mateusz Gamrot, who stepped in as an impromptu opponent for a revised main event.
Following the recent triumph of his compatriot Alex Pereira, the São Paulo-based superstar Oliveira feels that another winner from last week`s UFC 320 card has been unjustly overlooked.
Charles Oliveira claims Merab Dvalishvili is the best UFC fighter right now
Although his countryman Pereira significantly climbed the pound-for-pound rankings after his knockout victory over Magomed Ankalaev, he still hasn`t reached the very top of the promotion`s list.
Nevertheless, in the view of the UFC`s most accomplished submission artist and all-time finisher, Merab Dvalishvili, who co-headlined UFC 320, is the deserving holder of the number one pound-for-pound ranking.
When questioned by TNT Sports about his choice for the current best UFC fighter, Oliveira stated, “The guy who has been doing a great job out there, who I really like to watch is Merab (Dvalishvili).”
During the same Q&A, Oliveira also confidently proclaimed himself the greatest Brazilian fighter to ever grace the Octagon and proudly claimed ownership of the finest submission victory in history, attributed to his record-setting finish from years past.
Merab Dvalishvili linked with clash against ex-pound-for-pound leader
Following his dominant weekend victory against title challenger Cory Sandhagen, Dvalishvili has expressed strong intentions to fight again as early as December, signaling an active future.
Dvalishvili has been connected to numerous potential defenses of his bantamweight title, aiming to establish a new divisional record. He has been cited as a possible opponent for both Umar Nurmagomedov and Petr Yan.
However, his head coach has hinted at the possibility of a superfight in a higher weight class against a former pound-for-pound elite fighter in the near future.
