UFC president Dana White had barely wrapped the lightweight belt around Charles Oliveira's waist before the Brazilian was bombarded by half-a-dozen questions about who he would like to fight next.
Shortly after Oliveira (31-8, 1 NC) won the 155-pound title with a dramatic second-round stoppage of former Bellator lightweight champion Michael Chandler (22-6) on Saturday night, 'Do Bronz' hinted at a potential return to the featherweight division.
Asked whether he would like to fight Alexander Volkanovski in the future, Oliveira said he'd been keen to face the UFC featherweight champion - who does not currently have a targeted date for his second title defence. The 145-pound title fight between Volkanovski and Brian Ortega is expected to take place at some point after the conclusion of The Ultimate Fighter reality series.
"Me and my [father] have talked a lot about this, and I still feel like a featherweight," Oliveira said (via MMA Junkie). "But I kind of fit in this division.
"If Dana White gave me an opportunity to go back down to the featherweight division and win, I’d take it."
Former UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor (22-5) will run it back with former UFC interim lightweight champion Dustin Poirier (27-6, 1 NC) in a rubber match this summer, following his shock defeat earlier this year.
With the list of top contenders starting to shorten, Oliviera could fight the winner of McGregor vs Poirier III at the end of 2021.
However, he will leave it in the hands of his manager when it comes to finding his next opponent.
"I battled hard to get here," he added. "Everyone’s talking about who it’s going to be next, Poirier or Conor.
"I’ll leave that to my manager, and I’m going to go home and rest."
McGregor won the lightweight belt in November 2016 with a second-round knockout of former champion Eddie Alvarez, his second straight fight after defeating Nate Diaz in their highly-anticipated rematch.
The Irishman was later stripped of the title due to inactivity before coming up short against his arch-nemesis Khabib Nurmagomedov.
McGregor's trilogy fight with Poirier is the main event of UFC 264 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Oliveira, meanwhile, is a proven finisher, with only four of his fights going the full distance. 19 of his 31 wins have come by way of submission.
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