Head coach of Chute Boxe Diego Lima has claimed that the UFC had expressed interest in pairing his student Charles Oliveira with former champion Conor McGregor as coaches on TUF.
Since losing to Islam Makhachev in the second round of their championship bout at UFC 280 in October of last year, Oliveira has been out of action.
McGregor has not yet made a return after breaking his tibia and fibula in a clash at UFC 264.
UFC president Dana White said earlier this month that McGregor will return to the Octagon later this year as a coach on TUF season 31 against Michael Chandler, the current #5-ranked challenger.
While the organization hasn’t decided on an official site or venue or a date for McGregor’s comeback against Chandler, a September pay-per-view matchup has reportedly been mentioned.
Lima recently talked about how Charles Oliveira was mentioned as a potential coach against the Dubliner prior to the finalization of McGregor’s return. However, the language barrier for the Portuguese speaker prevented such a clash – at least on reality television.
Diego Lima spoke to Eurosport reporter, Alvaro Colmenero. He said: “If Charles (Oliveira) knew English, the UFC would have liked to make The Ultimate Fighter between him and Conor McGregor.”
🧐 Diego Lima: «Si Charles supiera inglés, a la UFC le habría gustado hacer el TUF entre él y Conor McGregor»
🫣 Diego Lima: "If Charles knew English, the UFC would have liked to make TUF between him and Conor McGregor".
Via – KOlmenero @UFCEspanol #UFC
— KOlmenero (@KOlmeneroMMA) February 9, 2023
Charles Oliveira’s 12 win streak was snapped in his submission loss to Makhachev. His most recent win came in the form of a non-title defense submission win over Justin Gaethje last May. This was followed by a standing rear-naked choke win over Poirier and a knockout win over Chandler.