Lightweight contender Charles Oliveira believes he has earned a step up in competition.

Following a TKO win over Nik Lentz at UFC Rochester, on May 18, ‘Do Bronx’ extended his current win streak to five straight victories, finishing all of his previous opponents - Clay Guida, Christos Giagos, Jim Miller and David Teymur - and breaking the record for most submission wins in the Octagon.

In an interview with Combate, the 29-year-old says he evolved much more than Nik Lentz, which is why he was able to finish the ‘Carny’ again after their first fight, in 2010, ended in a No Contest and the second one, in 2015, Do Bronx won via submission.

“We fought a long time ago, years ago. We evolved a lot, but I thought I had evolved much more than him. That day was all about the strategy my coaches came up with, I was able to pull it off in the Octagon. I deserve to be in the top 10, to fight a ranked guy. No names, just someone in the top 10 or top 5. That’s what I want and I will ask the UFC for it.”

Not only does he wish for a ranked opponent, but Oliveira already has a place in mind for his next outing as well - the upcoming card in Uruguay, which is scheduled to take place in the country’s capital of Montevideo, on August 10.

“I would really like fight in Uruguay. Pepe (UFC welterweight Laureano Staropoli) asked to fight there and we are training partners. It would be really good to fight on the same card. If there is a chance to fight a ranked guy in Uruguay, that would be great for me. If I fight in Uruguay, I want to finish the year fighting in Sao Paulo, with four fights this year. It would be really good for me.”

With six wins and just one defeat ever since he moved back up to the lightweight division in April 2017, Charles Oliveira (27-8-1 NC) has not lost a fight since a TKO defeat to Paul Felder, back in December 2017.