“I’ll fight a top 12 now and prove I’m a top 12,” Oliveira told reporters. “I don’t see myself fighting a top 10 next, I imagine myself already fighting a top 5. If not for the belt already. I don’t have much left to prove in the division. Look at the guys I’ve fought, look what I’ve done to them. I had some trouble against Said—I fought injured, in his home, and won a decision. Look at Ricky Simon, look what I did to Bernardo Sopaj. I’ll beat Kyler Phillips now and become a top 12, and then I wanna face a top 5.” “I don’t think it’s going to be possible to get such a jump in my career already, but maybe it is,” he continued. “I started against Ricky Simon, which was already a gigantic jump. Who can say they won’t give me another gigantic jump? I believe so. Just put on a show, say what needs to be said in front of the cameras there, and I believe they can give me a top 5.” Oliveira wants to be part of the planned Fight Night card in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Oct. 11, but acknowledges that would decrease the odds of any top-ranked 135-pounder agreeing to facing him in enemy territory. Therefore, he’s open to flying anywhere in the world for that opportunity against a star like O’Malley, who looks to rebound from back-to-back title fight losses to Merab Dvalishvili. “I don’t think anyone in the top 5 would want to fight me because I’m down there [in the rankings],” Oliveira said. “The guy I wanna fight is scared of me, he won’t fight me, and that’s Umar Nurmagomedov. OK, I’ve ruled that out already. The champion, Merab, they won’t give me that. That’s also ruled out. There’s a good chance I fight Sean O’Malley. He’s great, a complete fighter—not that complete, but good and versatile. And he has a big name in the UFC even though he’s not in a good moment in the UFC. He’s a phenom. “If he buys the idea, this fight happens. It all depends on the trash talk, on how I promote this fight. But if I were him, I wouldn’t take the fight. Or maybe he does because he needs a win. If he fights a top 5, in theory those guys are the best of the division, they are tougher than the ones below. Maybe the odds of him losing are higher — in his eyes, not mine. Oliveira wants to be part of the planned Fight Night card in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Oct. 11, but acknowledges that would decrease the odds of any top-ranked 135-pounder agreeing to facing him in enemy territory. Therefore, he’s open to flying anywhere in the world for that opportunity against a star like O’Malley, who looks to rebound from back-to-back title fight losses to Merab Dvalishvili. “I don’t think anyone in the top 5 would want to fight me because I’m down there [in the rankings],” Oliveira said. “The guy I wanna fight is scared of me, he won’t fight me, and that’s Umar Nurmagomedov. OK, I’ve ruled that out already. The champion, Merab, they won’t give me that. That’s also ruled out. There’s a good chance I fight Sean O’Malley. He’s great, a complete fighter—not that complete, but good and versatile. And he has a big name in the UFC even though he’s not in a good moment in the UFC. He’s a phenom. “If he buys the idea, this fight happens. It all depends on the trash talk, on how I promote this fight. But if I were him, I wouldn’t take the fight. Or maybe he does because he needs a win. If he fights a top 5, in theory those guys are the best of the division, they are tougher than the ones below. Maybe the odds of him losing are higher — in his eyes, not mine.