Islam Makhachev plans to fight for the UFC lightweight title on Saturday. It doesn’t matter if his opponent is Charles Oliveira or Alexander Volkanovski, he’s planning to fight for gold. However, given the option, there’s no doubt that Makhachev would prefer to face Oliveira, if only to avoid the chatter of fight fans.
The UFC lightweight belt currently sits vacant following the UFC’s decision (not the Arizona State Athletic Commission) to strip Oliveira of that title, after the Brazilian failed to make championship weight ahead of UFC 274. A titleless Oliveira submitted Justin Gaethje on that May card.