Charles Oliveira claims Conor McGregor is “avoiding” him, says he is “hungry” to get his belt back

Charles Oliveira believes Conor McGregor is afraid to fight him.

Oliveira is set to return to the Octagon in the co-main event of UFC 289 against Beneil Darisuh. It’s the Brazilian’s first fight since suffering a submission loss to Islam Makhachev back in October for the lightweight title. It was a disappointing result for Oliveira to no longer be the champ, but after the loss, he thought he could still get a big fight and mentioned McGregor as a possibility.

However, McGregor is coaching TUF 31 opposite Michael Chandler, and the two are set to fight later this year, which is disappointing for Oliveira.

“Everyone knows that Conor is avoiding me,” Oliveira said to Sports Illustrated. “His fight against Chandler will be great, but everyone can tell he is avoiding me. Personally, I think Chandler will win. Conor is very strategic, and he can fight—but he won’t fight me.”

RELATED: Beneil Dariush confident he will “dominate” Charles Oliveira at UFC 289.

Although Charles Oliveira believes Conor McGregor is avoiding him, he knows he can’t worry about that as he is focused on his matchup against Beneil Dariush at UFC 289. In the lead-up to the scrap, Dariush has said he will dominate Oliveira which the former champ says is blatantly wrong.

“Dariush is a great fighter. He’s one of the best in the world. If he thinks he will dominate me, he is wrong. I will be the one leaving with my hand raised,” Oliveira said.

If Charles Oliveira does beat Beneil Dariush at UFC 289, he expects to get a title shot and set up a rematch with Islam Makhachev. He knows he didn’t fight to his ability last October, but he says that loss has made him hungry to get his title back.

“I’m not the champ anymore, that changes everything. I’m waking up early, I’m staying up late thinking about getting my belt back. It’s always on my mind. Getting the belt back, that’s my focus,” Oliveira concluded. “That’s my goal. With a good performance on Saturday, I’ll be fighting for the title.”