Reigning UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira and his team dealt with a massive jolt as his conditioning coach, Alaelson Albuquerque, passed away this Friday. Albuquerque, 48, suffered heart attack days after being hospitalized because of Covid-19 complications.

Alaelson and Oliveira were together for many years. The news of the demise must have been a hard pill to swallow for the Brazilian.

Meanwhile, Oliveira will fly out to Vegas to attend the UFC 264 event headlined by a trilogy clash between Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier on July 10. The pair recently met at UFC 257 where the ‘Diamond’ avenged his loss in 2014 with a TKO win in round 2.

It is important to note that the winner of that bout is a certainty to challenge ‘Do Bronx’ for the title next. Oliveira had captured the title after beating Michael Chandler at UFC 262. The lightweight title was left vacant after the retirement of the former undisputed champion ‘The Eagle’ Khabib Nurmagomedov.

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Oliveira traveling to Vegas shouldn’t come as a surprise. After all, he is also sure of the fact that one of them would challenge him next. His presence will also serve as hype for the impending title fight, probably later this year.

Charles Oliveira ready to face the winner

In an interview, ‘Do Bronx’ detailed about facing McGregor as well as Poirier. “I never choose opponents. I am always ready to fight,” he said. “They are two big names in the sport, the lightweights.

“Everyone knows that a fight with Conor has a lot of money and one with Dustin not so much, but they are two great opponents. I don’t choose my fights, I will be ready. I really believe in my jiu-jitsu against either of them, but something tells me that if I fought them, I would knock them both out. I’m feeling fine,”

‘Do Bronx‘ further said, “A few years ago, Charles was the jiu-jitsu guy, who walked forward, took a beating and was a little afraid. Today, I’m not afraid to fight these guys. The funny thing is that when I start fighting, they try to put me down, to do what I know best.

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“This shows how much I’m evolving on my feet. It will definitely be a great fight. Charles, today, is not a jiu-jitsu fighter. He’s a complete fighter, both standing and on the ground, but I think everyone will be knocked out,” he concluded.

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It will be a fascinating contest at UFC 264 and Oliveira will be wary of his title challenger whoever it may be from the duo. It will be the biggest fight of his career by a fair margin.