UFC Fight Night 98's Charles Oliveira doesn't understand rankings – but needs them for title shot

Taking on a dangerous former title challenger on relatively short notice under Mexico City’s unique air conditions is certainly an ambitious endeavor. But, as a quick browse through his history will reveal, Charles Oliveira has never been one to shy away from those.

Where some may see risk, Oliveira (21-6 MMA, 9-6 UFC) has always seemed to see opportunity. And he’s determined to not let the next one – a UFC Fight Night 98 main-card scrap against fellow featherweight Ricardo Lamas (16-5 MMA, 7-3 UFC) – go to waste.

“I think it will be a great fight,” Oliveira told MMAjunkie. “It’s also a great opportunity. Unfortunately I’m coming off a loss (to former lightweight champion Anthony Pettis), in spite of it having been a great fight. From what I understand, (B.J. Penn, Lamas’ original opponent, at the scrapped UFC Fight Night 97 event) ended up getting hurt, and both the fight and the card were canceled. I think it certainly gave Lamas longer to train and dedicate himself to this fight, so it will be a great opportunity not just for me but for him, too.

“I intend to be 100 percent for this fight. It’s a great opportunity, and it’s my dream on the line. What I really want is to at the end of everything – regardless if it’s on the first, second or third round – it doesn’t matter how I’ll be. What matters is winning this fight.”

UFC Fight Night 98 takes place Saturday at Mexico City Arena in Mexico. It airs on FS1 following early prelims on UFC Fight Pass.

The matchup’s relevance is not lost on Lamas, who believes it to be more valuable than his original bout – a headlining affair against former champ Penn that would have taken place on Oct. 15.

Ranked No. 6 in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA featherweight rankings, Lamas looks to bounce back from a setback to Max Holloway in April. No. 11-ranked Oliveira, in turn, seeks recovery from a loss of his own – a third-round submission defeat to Pettis that brought the Brazilian 145-pounder to a 1-2 mark in his past three.

However, despite the negative outcome, Oliveira is happy with the way the scrap – Pettis’ first in the featherweight division – played out.

“I’d said that (the fight with Pettis) would shock the world – and it did,” Oliveira said. “It was a very tough fight. It had a lot of striking, a lot of jiu-jitsu. He’s also a very tough guy, very good. I said numerous times that it could have a submission either by me or him, or a knockout either by me or him – a fight in which anything could happen. It was 100 percent. I made weight very well. I was lower than the limit, and he also made weight. I think it was a great fight.

“He got tired, and I got tired too. But I got tired because I got a kick to the rib that threw me off. Anthony Pettis is very tough. He’s a former champion. There’s really nothing to say. I think what happened is that he got lucky in that I threw 10 things and he threw 10 things, and he landed 10 and I landed nine. It was his merit. The win was his.”

For this shorter camp, Oliveira made a change: He relocated from his home in Guaruja, where he’s always trained at Bronx Gold Team, to the capital of Sao Paulo, where he now trains full time at Chute Boxe Diego Lima, also home to UFC Fight Night 98 colleague Felipe Arantes.

“I had 25 days (to train),” Oliveira said. “But it was 25 days to hold on to this opportunity as if I had two or three months to train, train and train.”

With a win, Oliveira looks to hold on to his spot in the UFC rankings, where he currently occupies the eighth position, and keep on his path to reach the ultimate octagon goal.

“The rankings matter to me a lot, for sure,” Oliveira said “I want to stay there. I want to be among the world’s top 10. Sometimes I don’t really understand the rankings. There are guys who I beat who are ahead of me, and guys who beat me who are behind me.

“I don’t really get it sometimes, but we want to stay ranked and focused on our goal, which is to be champion.”

For more on UFC Fight Night 98, check out the UFC Rumors section of MMAjunkie.