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Chael Sonnen believes Charles Oliveira owes Tony Ferguson a thank you for helping him in his rise to the summit.
Back in December 2020, Oliveira went toe-to-toe with Ferguson at UFC 256. The blockbuster showdown was seen as a watershed moment in the career of the rising Brazilian. While some thought 'El Cucuy' would still be able to come out on top even after his loss to Justin Gaethje, it was 'Do Bronx' who put on an impressive performance.
Charles Oliveira came incredibly close to submitting Tony Ferguson and eventually sealed a dominant decision win. From there, Oliveira went on to beat Michael Chandler and Dustin Poirier to cement himself as the best lightweight in the world. Ferguson, meanwhile, lost to Beneil Dariush in his next outing and will take on Chandler later this year in an attempt to get back in the win column.
In a video posted to his YouTube channel, Chael Sonnen weighed in on Oliveira's rise to championship status and noted the influence Ferguson had. The former UFC fighter said:
“One real cool move that Tony did, he did it for Charles Oliveira and I’ve never heard Charles thank Tony, he may have thanked him but I didn’t hear it. Oliveira was a really good fighter but he couldn’t get on a docket with one of the stars of the division. Tony was a star of the division, got up in the loft, threw the ladder down behind him so Charles could climb up.”
He added:
“Charles gets done with Tony, Tony has gotta figure out what he’s gonna do, Charles goes into a world title fight, the rest is history - but Charles does not have a world title fight let alone a world championship if it’s not for Tony Ferguson.”
Watch Chael Sonnen discuss Charles Oliveira and Tony Ferguson's career trajectories below:
What's next for Charles Oliveira?
While he may have already successfully defended his world title against Dustin Poirier, Charles Oliviera will once again have to prove himself to the masses when he meets Justin Gaethje at UFC 274.
Gaethje earned his shot at the champ with a nice win over Michael Chandler. While his fight with Oliveira was originally supposed to take place in Brazil, it'll now go down in Arizona - not far from where 'The Highlight' grew up.
The belief is that Gaethje will pose an interesting challenge with both his striking and wrestling. On the flip side, Oliveira will be as dangerous as ever as a result of his world-class Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
