It wasn’t too long ago that Charles Oliveira and Dricus Du Plessis were in line for UFC title shots, but what comes next for both men is anybody’s guess thanks to the UFC 294 makeover.
Saturday’s pay-per-view event in Abu Dhabi will see new main and co-main events unfold on just 11 days’ notice as featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski replaces Oliveira to rematch Islam Makhachev for the lightweight title, while former welterweight champ Kamaru Usman moves up to middleweight to step in for injured Paulo Costa and fight Khamzat Chimaev.
Oliveira was locked in to rematch Makhachev – whom he lost the 155-pound title to last year – until he suffered a deep cut during a sparring session just before he was about to travel to Abu Dhabi. While conventional thinking might dictate that Oliveira gets the winner of Makhachev vs. Volkanovski, UFC CEO Dana White acknowledged Friday that a trilogy fight would probably happen if Volkanovski – who lost a close unanimous decision to Makhachev in February – gets the win this time.
So where would that leave Oliveira?
“I have no idea,” White told reporters after the UFC 294 ceremonial weigh-ins. “I’m not even thinking about that yet. I mean, I’m excited about tomorrow. I have no idea what we’re gonna do with Charles until – but obviously, if I have to answer that question, I’d say yeah (he gets the winner). I mean, the kid got a bad beat, got a bad cut literally hours before he was supposed to fly out. But, yeah, I’m not even thinking about that yet. I’m sure Charles is, but I’m not right now.”
Du Plessis, winner of eight fights in a row, wasn’t booked for a title shot, but the offer was on the table after he impressively finished Robert Whittaker on July 8 at UFC 290. The expectation was for Du Plessis to make a relatively quick turnaround to challenge then-middleweight champ Israel Adesanya at UFC 293, but Du Plessis said he couldn’t compete because of a foot injury, which didn’t sit well with White.
In the buildup to UFC 294, White has said the winner of Usman vs. Chimaev will get the next shot at 185-pound champ Sean Strickland. When asked about where that leaves Du Plessis in the title-shot pecking order, White wasn’t so enthused.
“I don’t know where that puts him,” White said. “It puts him fighting somebody. He’ll end up fighting somebody.”
