Charles Oliveira not interested in Nate Diaz fight, says coach

UFC lightweight contender Charles Oliveira is not interested in fighting Nate Diaz, with his coach saying his goal is to fight for the belt.

On the heels of an eight-fight win streak, Oliveira is one of the top-three ranked lightweights on the UFC roster right now. With UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov set to retire at any point, the Brazilian has made it clear that he believes he should be fighting for the vacant title. Of course, that didn’t stop Diaz from throwing his name into the hat to fight Oliveira. On Monday, Diaz said that he is intrigued by the possibility of a welterweight matchup with Oliveira.

While Diaz vs. Oliveira would be a fun fight for the fans, don’t expect it to happen anytime soon. Speaking to AG Fight, Oliveira’s coach Diego Lima said Oliveira’s sole focus right now is on fighting for the UFC lightweight title next.

“To be honest, it is a fight that theoretically makes no sense to us. Nate is not active, much less ranked. It is a fight that would only happen for financial reasons. But even so, I don’t think it would be beneficial for us at this point. We know that McGregor sells a lot. Really who he faces sells well. Nate is not at that level. Our goal is the belt. Even if it is very financially worthwhile, today I do not see this struggle adding to Charles’ career. The goal is only one, the lightweight title,” Lima said of his pupil Oliveira.

With Nurmagomedov set for another meeting with UFC president Dana White at month’s end, we should start to have more clarity about the future of the lightweight belt very soon, a belt that Oliveira will do anything to fight for. Just don’t expect him to accept a fight with Diaz anytime soon, even for the money.

Do you want to see Charles Oliveira fight Nate Diaz or do you think his team is right and that his next matchup should be for the belt?