![Charles Oliveira (left) discusses being front-row for Islam Makhachev vs. Arman Tsarukyan (right) set for UFC 311 [Images courtesy: Getty Images]](https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2025/01/71a1f-17365897207110-1920.jpg)
![Charles Oliveira (left) discusses being front-row for Islam Makhachev vs. Arman Tsarukyan (right) set for UFC 311 [Images courtesy: Getty Images]](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http%3A//www.w3.org/2000/svg'%20xmlns%3Axlink='http%3A//www.w3.org/1999/xlink'%20viewBox='0%200%2010%206.25'%3E%3Cfilter%20id='b'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20color-interpolation-filters='sRGB'%3E%3CfeGaussianBlur%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20stdDeviation='.5'%3E%3C/feGaussianBlur%3E%3CfeComponentTransfer%3E%3CfeFuncA%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20type='discrete'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20tableValues='1%201'%3E%3C/feFuncA%3E%3C/feComponentTransfer%3E%3C/filter%3E%3Cimage%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20filter='url(%23b)'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Charles Oliveira and Arman Tsarukyan faced off in a lightweight title eliminator bout at UFC 300 on April 2024. 'Do Bronx' suffered a narrow split-decision defeat, and his former opponent will now take on Islam Makhachev in the main event of UFC 311 on Jan. 18 for the 155-pound belt.
Having competed against both Tsarukyan and Makhachev, Oliveira was asked to share his thoughts on the upcoming title clash during a recent interview with MMA journalist Manouk Akopyan. The Brazilian also confirmed that he had offered to be the emergency replacement fighter for UFC 311's main event, but his services were not needed.
The former champion hopes to face the winner of Makhachev vs. Tsarukyan 2.
"I even offered the UFC to be the back-up for this fight. They just told me to wait. So here I am, I'm waiting to see who the winner is gonna be, who I'm gonna be facing. Since they told me to wait, I'm just taking some time off and enjoying the time with my family, my daughter and my wife."
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When asked if he will be octagon-side for the fight, Oliveira said:
"Yeah, for sure. I told Dana [White] that I wanted to be front-row when this fight happened and that's what's happening."
Check out Charles Oliveira's comments below (1:25):
Charles Oliveira shares prediction for Islam Makhachev vs. Arman Tsarukyan 2
UFC 311 will kick off the promotion's calendar year in style, as the pay-per-view card plays host to two title fights. The co-main event will see Merab Dvalishvili and Umar Nurmagomedov go to war for the bantamweight title before Islam Makhachev and Arman Tsarukyan clash in a rematch for the lightweight belt.
The pair faced off in 2019, where Makhachev secured a decision win, and since their first fight, they share a combined record fo 18-1 in the UFC.
Ahead of the bout, Charles Oliveira was asked to share his prediction for the matchup during his aforementioned interview with Manouk Akopyan. 'Do Bronx' said:
"It's not even that I'm 50/50. I just think they're both great amazing fighters and my point is that Islam has improved a lot in the stand-up. If you look at their first fight, there was a lot of grappling. I feel Islam has improved a lot in his stand-up so I think that could make a difference." [11:00-11:20 in Charles Oliveira's interview]
