Money or Legacy: What Takes Precedence For Oliviera?
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How should the Brazilian champion proceed?
It seems that after his tough bout with one of the greatest lightweights in the world, current lightweight champion Charles Oliviera has his sights set on two of the division’s elite-level strikers.
On one hand, we have top 10 lightweight, and former champion, Conor McGregor. And on the other hand, we have former interim champion and number two ranked lightweight, Justin Gaethje.
Although most of us will be salivating—not literally but you get the gist— at the thought of these matchups, the philosophies behind the two choices begs an important question: who deserves it more?
Surprisingly, when you hear that, your mind subconsciously springs to Conor and Justin. But truth be told, that answer is only Half-Right.
In all actuality, the two who deserve the most thought when picking between them is actually Charles and Justin.
Charles has shown to be an adaptable, and amazing champ thus far. Despite his ability to take a punch, he has shown great recovery and an ability to hold his own. His improvements are constantly showing, and are a key reason to his high level of success.
Abilities like this have led to victories over some of the toughest in the division, such as Tony Ferguson, Kevin Lee, and Dustin Poirier.
This has accrued him 11 consecutive wins. After years of tough tests, and back to back wars to emerge victorious, I don’t think any MMA fan could disagree with the idea of Charles earning his worth.
Enter Conor.
While Conor might not have the dominance he once held over the divisions, Conor is still formidable in his own right. His victory over Cowboy, and subsequent losses to Poirier, have shown that he still has the power and movement to keep up with the division— at least on the feet.
Still, to say he DESERVES a title shot is ridiculous. There are much more deserving candidates, such as Islam or Dairush. Still, there is no arguing that, while his streak might not be hot, his ability to produce revenue and hype is unmatched in the sport.
No matter what he does, McGregor will earn money. And being a champion means that Oliviera will get his share of the profits too.
The problem here is that we continually enforce the sea that money will preceded over actu earning a shot.
And we don’t want another Tony Ferguson case.
Then.. there’s Gaethje.
Most of you are under the assumption that I believe Gaethje he completely earned the right to the next title shot.
This is not entirely true. Compared to Conor, sure, Gaethje has earned talks of a championship bout. His win against new-hire and veteran combatant Michael Chandler is definitely extraordinary, and shows that he still has the ability to fight at a high level.
He’s also 4-1 in his last 5, with his only loss being to undefeated former champion Khabib Nurmagomedov.
As far as contenders go, Gaethje is definitely not the worst option available, and compared to most of the new contenders, he’s one with a resume to back up his claims.
Rather than money, Charles would definitely be fighting Gaethje for not only legacy, but also legitimacy as a champion, as many still believe that Charles is miles behind Khabib as a title holder.
So the question remains after all has been said; who is the better option for Charles’ next opponent?
Has he earned his breakthrough PPV money, or should he continue putting on spectacular performances against tough competition and try to break out as a pound-for-pound great? Let me know what you guys think!
