The UFC lightweight division belongs to Charles Oliveira now. But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t think about what could have been at 145 pounds.
Or what still could be.
For years, Oliveira insisted on making the cut down to featherweight, even as the battle with the scale challenged him as much as anyone that stepped into the cage with him. Oliveira missed the featherweight limit four times and a move to lightweight was preceded by an egregious miss of almost 10 pounds for a bout against Ricardo Lamas in November 2016.
Oliveira has won 10 of 11 fights since moving up a division and on Saturday at UFC 262, his lightweight journey culminated in him winning a vacant UFC title after finishing Michael Chandler with strikes in the second round.