Dana White says sorry, Canada’s Toronto. Your hopes of seeing Charles Oliveira and Islam Makhachev battle for the lightweight title are dashed.
The much-awaited rematch between Makhachev and Oliveira in T-Dot was said to be scheduled for January 20th at UFC 297, according to MMA reporter Ariel Helwani over the weekend. CEO of UFC Dana White says that’s not the case.
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Dana White Says Islam Makhachev vs. Charles Oliveira Will Not Happen In UFC 297
Dana White stated, “Islam Makhachev vs. Charles Oliveira 2 will not headline UFC 297 next month in Toronto.”
Though White tells ESPN, “Anything is possible, it’s whenever both are ready,” Oliveira does seem to be the most probable 155 challenger right now.
According to ESPN, Makhachev’s manager Ali Abdelaziz has told the UFC that Makhachev won’t be ready to defend his championship until March 9. Given that it falls on March 2, the day following the UFC’s major Saudi Arabia debut event, it’s an extremely intriguing one to list. It would be enormous to see Makhachev defend his title in the Middle East once more, and the UFC prides itself on satisfying its foreign partners.
It is particularly odd that Makhachev would be classified as prepared to combat during the holy month of fasting, as March 9th happens to be the last day before Ramadan.
As of right moment, the only conclusive response we have is that Islam vs. Charles 2 will not take place in Toronto. Raquel Pennington vs. Mayra Bueno Silva for the vacant women’s bantamweight belt is something Canadian fans should look forward to. There is considerable uncertainty about the status of a previously scheduled featherweight title match between Ilia Topuria and Alexander Volkanovski for the same day.
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