It appears that the rematch between Islam Makhachev and Charles Oliveira won’t be taking place at the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s first pay-per-view card of next year. Although unconfirmed, UFC 297 is reportedly scheduled for Jan. 20 in Toronto. A recent report from Ariel Helwani suggested that Oliveira (34-9) was prepared to chase the lightweight strap against Makhachev (25-1) as the principal event of the night. However, UFC CEO Dana White, in his conversation with ESPN’s Brett Okamoto, dismissed the report, stating, “Anything is possible, it’s whenever both are ready.” Ali Abdelaziz, Makhachev’s manager, also brushed off the report as ‘fake news,’ and claimed to Okamoto that the title defender would be fight-ready by March 9.
Makhachev had previously downed Oliveira prior to submitting him to win the previously vacant strap at UFC 280 in October. The Dagestani has impressively defended his title twice against featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski since his victory. The first defense happened through a fiercely contested decision in February followed by an impressive knockout via a head kick in October. Meanwhile, Oliveira weathered the loss and bounced back, capturing a dominant win over Beneil Dariush at UFC 289 in June.
Internally, a rematch between Makhachev and Oliveira was originally planned for UFC 294 last month. However, due to Oliveira being cut in sparring 10 days preceding the event, the rematch was forced off the schedule. He has not yet resumed training but has asserted his readiness to do so soon. Oliveira was caught off guard by the rumors of a UFC 297 rematch. In his comments during a post-fight show at UFC Fight Night 231 in Sao Paulo, the 34-year-old revealed his surprise, stating; “We just heard this in the locker room. People were asking us in messages. This is the first time we’ve heard about it. But that’s the timeline, January maybe, so who knows.”