Charles Oliveira insinuated that Dan Hooker rejected to fight him in Rio.
Hooker (24-12 MMA, 14-8 UFC), who has been recovering from hand surgery, called out both Oliveira and Arman Tsarukyan for a fight in November. However, Oliveira (35-11 MMA, 23-11 UFC) ended up being booked for the UFC Fight Night 261 headliner against Rafael Fiziev (13-4 MMA, 7-4 UFC) on Oct. 11 at Farmasi Arena in Rio de Janeiro.
Oliveira explains how he ended up with Fiziev.
“I’m not a guy who goes around playing games, but I was offered names, and they didn’t even want it,” Oliveira told Ag Fight (h/t Championship Rounds). “So today, when you release this, these guys will tweet, ‘Coward! I wanted it, he didn’t want it.’ But it’s a lie. My whole life it’s been like this. They poke around, talk sh*t from the other side. When I say, ‘Come on, I’m here,’ they take it and run the other way.”
The former UFC lightweight champion went off on Hooker for talking, but allegedly not accepting to fight him.
“(Hooker) is also just talking for a long time,” Oliveira said. “This soap opera, you already know, it’s been going on for years. He talked and talked and talked, and it never happened. So really, it’s all talk. That’s the reality. He talked a lot of nonsense. A guy who speaks a lot of nonsense on the internet, but when he’s called, he doesn’t go.”
