Dana White Refutes Report Of Major UFC Title Fight Planned For January

UFC CEO Dana White caught wind of a reported championship fight being in the works and he's poured cold water on the fire.

It had been reported by Ariel Helwani that while nothing was finalized, a lightweight title rematch between champion Islam Makhachev and Charles Oliveira was being targeted for UFC 297 in January 2024. As it turns out, this is not the case according to White.

ESPN's Brett Okamoto spoke to the UFC boss, who refuted the report, but did confirm that "do Bronx" is likely the next 155-pound title challenger.

Islam Makhachev vs. Charles Oliveira 2 will not headline UFC 297 next month in Toronto, per Dana White.

As of now, Oliveira does appear to be the most likely 155 challenger, although White tells ESPN, 'Anything is possible, it's whenever both are ready.'
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) November 5, 2023

White's refute of the report comes shortly after Makhachev's manager Ali Abdelaziz slammed Helwani on the X platform, denying his report.

Guys, please don’t listen to people can’t even get credentials to UFC events fake news bitch
— Ali Abdelaziz (@AliAbdelaziz00) November 5, 2023

"Guys, please don’t listen to people can’t even get credentials to UFC events, fake news b****," Abdelaziz wrote.

Okamoto had a follow-up post to his report, revealing Abdelaziz informed him that the earliest return date for Islam Makhachev is March 9. Makhachev is fresh off a first-round head kick KO win over reigning UFC featherweight champion Alex Volkanovski back in October.

Abdelaziz has publicly said he doesn't believe Charles Oliveira is owed a title shot. He has called on Justin Gaethje to get the opportunity, which isn't a surprise given that Ali also represents "The Highlight."

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