Outside Source
Brazilian reporter Laerte Viana first broke the news on Thursday that Charles Oliveira (35-11, 1 NC) would be taking on Rafael Fiziev (13-4) in the main attraction of UFC Rio on Oct. 11. The lightweights will tangle across five rounds inside of the Farmasi Arena in Rio de Janeiro. The matchup will serve as Oliveira’s first Fight Night appearance and first in his home country since headlining in Brasilia against Kevin Lee in March 2020. The UFC subsequently confirmed this pairing on social media.
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Up and Down for the Lightweight Great Atop the Ladder
Former lightweight king Oliveira has alternated wins and losses in his last six outings, which included him vying for the lightweight belt more than once. On that stretch starting with a first-round submission of Justin Gaethje in 2022 to leave the belt vacant because he missed weight, he went on to vie for his old belt months later. Islam Makhachev subbed Oliveira to claim the crown, and losses to Arman Tsarukyan and Ilia Topuria—the latter for another vacant title tilt—have kept him off the throne.
It had been rough sledding for Kazakhstan native Fiziev, who lost to Gaethje twice in recent memory, bookending an injury stoppage loss to Mateusz Gamrot along the way. Fiziev rebounded with a decision over Ignacio Bahamondes in June, but saw his finish rate plummet to 69% in the process.
Oliveira and Fiziev will headline the UFC Rio event on Oct. 11 at the Farmasi Arena in Rio de Janeiro. Other noteworthy matches currently scheduled on the UFC Fight Night 261 lineup include a heavyweight bout pitting Vitor Petrino against Thomas Petersen, another heavyweight rumble when Jhonata Diniz faces Mario Pinto and a strawweight clash as Julia Polastri faces Karolina Kowalkiewicz.
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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