Charles Oliveira wants to beat Islam Makhachev at UFC 280 in October so that he has time to build a January bout with Conor McGregor for the lightweight title.
The Irishman's UFC return is officially being pushed back to next year, but he could return at UFC 283, the promotion's major pay-per-view in Rio de Janeiro on January 21. And Oliveira believes there would be no bigger headliner than his homecoming title defence against McGregor.
The Brazilian is not currently the lightweight champion after being stripped of the belt for missing weight by half-a-pound ahead of his last defence against Justin Gaethje. But he did beat Gaethje comfortably, as well as stopping Dustin Poirier and Michael Chandler, so he is still considered the best lightweight and will enter as the A-side for his October 22 meeting with Makhachev.
