Charles Oliveira advised to chase Conor McGregor fight and snub Justin Gaethje

UFC lightweight champion Oliveira has found an unlikely ally in his effort to take on McGregor in a big money title fight instead of facing top contender Gaethje

Charles Oliveira has been advised to choose Conor McGregor over Justin Gaethje for his next lightweight title defence.

Oliveira became lightweight champion last year when he won the belt vacated by Khabib Nurmagomedov by beating Michael Chandler, and then defended his belt against Dustin Poirier.

And he has courted controversy by angling for a fight with former champion McGregor, who hasn’t won in the division since 2016, and is 1-3 since in all fights.

But Nurmagomedov’s coach Javier Mendez, who is in charge of the American Kickboxing Academy (AKA), has said that the Brazilian, as champion, should follow the money.

McGregor would prove a much more lucrative opponent than Gaethje, particularly given that his last few outings were some of the biggest selling pay-per-views in MMA history.

“Go for the money,” Mendez told Helen Yee Sports. “Probably a fight with Conor McGregor.

“The UFC is a business, they’re going to do what they’re going to do, so I would think that, look what Dustin did – he went for the money.

“So, a lot of these fighters have attended a certain status, they show their worth by what they do, they go for the money whereas other fighters show their status by where their heart lies.

“They go for the title so in this particular case I’m thinking, since you already has the title, he’s going for the money.”

Poirier was offered the lightweight title opportunity last spring but opted instead to face McGregor in a trilogy bout after knocking him out in January.

The American understood that the showdown at UFC 264 would be a massive earner, and when he defeated the Irishman for a second time, he was ultimately afforded a title shot anyway.

And Mendez believes that it is all just an exercise in timewasting before his fighter Islam Makhachev is given his shot at the world title.

Makhachev is currently on a nine-fight winning run and sits at No.4 in the division, where he will face No.3-ranked Beneil Dariush next month.

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“Islam will win the title,” Mendez explained. “I know he’s going to win the title but in a perfect situation, it’s going to be this year.

“By win percentage, the winner of Islam and Beneil should fight Charles Oliveira.

“It shouldn’t be anybody else, because they can get more eyeballs to screen but in the promotion business it’s about who can bring the most money, we have seen it too many times.

“So this is a business first.”

Makhachev is close with Nurmagomedov, and the former champion has even cornered his friend in the past during some of his bigger fights.

He has previously demanded a title fight, but McGregor’s major sway in the organisation could see him jump the line in the division again.

McGregor is a two-weight world champion, and after winning the featherweight title was immediately granted a lightweight title shot despite having never fought there in the UFC.