SÃO PAULO — Charles Oliveira hoped to rematch UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev after knocking out Beneil Dariush in June 2023, but there’s a scenario in which he takes another fight after UFC 300 instead of challenging for the belt.

Oliveira meets Arman Tsarukyan on April 13 in Las Vegas, and Diego Lima, his manager and the head coach at Chute Boxe, explained to MMA Fighting why he would rather face Conor McGregor in a welterweight contest rather than booking a rematch with Makhachev following the massive pay-per-view show.

“It would be great to fight McGregor,” Lima said. “McGregor has made history.

“Professionally speaking, [fighting him] would be incredible. If we had the opportunity to fight McGregor at welterweight after this fight, we would fight McGregor. But how about the belt? OK, we’ll fight the belt after that, God willing. But we know that with McGregor, the creature has become bigger than the creator. We know that if the opportunity came, McGregor already considered this fight. If we really had this opportunity, that’s the one we want.”

Lima revealed that McGregor texted Oliveira privately in the past, asking Oliveira to wait for him to return instead of facing Makhachev, however Oliveira’s team decided against it because the Irish star was still recovering from a leg break.

With McGregor finally gearing up for a return in 2024, Oliveira’s team likes the idea now.

“The belt is a certainty after beating McGregor,” Lima said. “No way we beat McGregor and don’t fight for the belt next. It’s one after the other.

“McGregor really wants to fight at [International] Fight Week. Who knows? Of course, one fight at a time. Arman is super tough, really good. Charles is 100 percent focused on Arman and doesn’t think about Makhachev or McGregor. Me too. I’m only watching Arman’s fights, working on a strategy for Arman. I wouldn’t start watching McGregor’s or Makhachev’s fights today. I’m not doing that. But we think about it.”