Mateusz Gamrot won his main event fight at UFC Vegas 79 and he immediately challenged former lightweight world champion Charles Oliveira to be his next opponent. He was matched up against fellow top contender Rafael Fiziev at the event and seeing as both men were on the verge of the top 5 of the lightweight division, the fight was important for the division’s title-picture. Gamrot ended up winning when Fiziev suffered a knee injury in the second round and although the conclusion of the fight was less than satisfying, the outcome will likely see Gamrot move into the top 5.
That meant that he would have his pick of opponents and as soon as he was asked about his next fight in the cage, he clearly had Oliveira’s name on his mind already. He later explained exactly why he wants Oliveira above all else:
“Everybody (says) that I am a wrestler, I am a striker. I really believe in myself (as a grappler). I won many BJJ tournaments, and I won two times at the ADCC Trials. In the next one, I would like to test myself against Charles Oliveira because he’s the most dangerous guy on the ground. My previous opponents every time it is stand up and like the ground is hot for everybody. But the next one, I would like to challenge myself on the ground, you know, I want to show my really good skills in Jiu-Jitsu. I want to show how good I am on the ground, and I think this guy will be the first guy in my career who’s gonna fight with me on the ground.”
A fight between Mateusz Gamrot and Charles Oliveira would certainly be entertaining, and it’d likely produce some fantastic grappling highlights too. The only issue is that Oliveira is already booked to challenge Islam Makhachev for the UFC lightweight title in a hotly-anticipated rematch. Gamrot has already accounted for that though:
“I know he has a fight soon in the next month with the champ. My prediction is the result will be the same as last time, that Islam (Makhachev) defends his belt, and I can wait for Charles Oliveira next year. It doesn’t matter; maybe March, maybe April, maybe May. I will be ready for him, and I want to fight with him.”
The full post-fight interview with Mateusz Gamrot where he explains his call-out of Charles Oliveira was uploaded to the official YouTube channel of MMA Mania:
