Charles Oliveira should “go for the money” and fight Conor McGregor next, says Khabib and Islam’s coach

Javier Mendez, the head coach of Khabib Nurmagomedov and Islam Makhachev, says he would advise Charles Oliveira to fight Conor McGregor next.

After Oliveira submitted Dustin Poirier to defend his belt at UFC 269, many expected him to face Justin Gaethje next time out. However, he has recently called out McGregor and the Irishman expressed his mutual interest. Although “Notorious” is on a two-fight losing streak, Mendez believes the Brazilian should try and make the McGregor fight happen for a simple reason.

“Go for the money… The UFC is a business, they’re going to do what they’re going to do. So I would think that, look what Dustin did. What did Dustin do? Go for the title or go for the money? He went for the money,” Mendez said to Helen Yee about Oliveira-McGregor. “So, a lot of these fighters have attended a certain status, they show their worth by what they do, they go for the money whereas other fighters show their status with where their heart lies, where they go for the title. So in this particular case, I’m thinking, since he already has the title, he’s going for the money. Whoever is going to provide the most money for Charles is who I believe he will go with.”

As of right now, Charles Oliveira’s next fight has not been announced so there is a chance Conor McGregor does get that next title shot. Also, as Mendez says, there is no question that a fight with the Irishman would be a massive payday for the Brazilian. Given he already has the belt, perhaps ‘Do Bronx’ wants one mega payday, which a McGregor fight is.

For now, McGregor is healing up his broken leg and will likely return in the summer. Oliveira, meanwhile, just fought last month and when he will return is uncertain at this point.

Do you think Charles Oliveira vs. Conor McGregor happens next?