Outside Source
In the main attraction of UFC Fight Night 170 in March 2020, Charles Oliveira and Kevin Lee squared off in what would be the final UFC match for a few months thanks to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. A little under five and a half years later, and “Do Bronxs” has been given the green light to compete atop an event on his home soil. At UFC Rio—also known as UFC Fight Night 261—on Saturday, he faces late replacement Mateusz Gamrot, in what will be his first career headlining spot in Rio de Janeiro.
Advertisement
“Ohh, the champion is back,” the crowd chanted in Portuguese as Oliveira arrived to the open workout on Wednesday. The fighters all warmed up in front of fans and press inside of the Barra Shopping Mall, the largest mall in the second-most populous Brazilian city. Oliveira could scarcely contain his emotions.
“I held back tears,” Oliveira told media while hitting mitts with coach Diego Lima at the UFC Rio open workout. “I’ve dreamed of this moment since 2011, when I was just arriving at the UFC and saw Anderson Silva entering the arena with the crowd chanting his name. I knew one day my time would come. Fourteen years later, here we are.”
A veteran of 35 outings under the UFC umbrella while holding a litany of records, Oliveira is celebrated as the competitor with the most stoppages (20), submissions (16) and post-fight bonuses (20) in the promotion. He also has earned more victories than any other Brazilian in UFC history.
He is beyond elated to be fighting again in Rio, this time as the person fans largely come from miles around to see.
“I’m very grateful for that opportunity, and the support the Brazilian crowd is already giving with tickets sold out in a record time, even having many numbered UFC editions here. So, for me [this] is something gigantic, and I’m very happy with that,” the grappler remarked.
It was not always sunshine and rainbows for the 35-year-old from Guaruja, Brazil, who was staring down quite a different situation that he referenced. The first UFC event in Rio de Janeiro, UFC 134 in August 2011, took place in the midst of a rough run for the submission ace, where he had lost two of three to Donald Cerrone and Jim Miller while inadvertently kneeing Nik Lentz in the face to result in a no contest.
Tides changed, Oliveira relocated his training camp to Chute Boxe under coach Lima, and he moved up permanently to 155 pounds. As a burgeoning lightweight at the time, Oliveira could not be denied, prevailing eight straight times from 2018 to 2020, culminating in a shot at the vacant lightweight throne that he claimed by knocking out Michael Chandler. While the former champion has alternated wins and losses in his last six, he remains just as positive and upbeat as ever.
Mateusz Gamrot’s Provocation
Sherdog contributor Dayne Fox suggested that Oliveira decided to remain in the main event to stick around in the UFC’s good graces, in the hopes that he could be rewarded later in victory. Even with Gamrot taking the fight on late notice, he tried to rile Oliveira up a bit to accept it. Something that briefly got under the Brazilian’s skin was a meme posted on Gamrot’s social media alluding to Oliveira as a chicken seeking to hand-pick his opponent.
Taking the high road, “Do Bronxs” replied to a question about his opponent by saying, “I’m fighting in this organization for 15 years and you still don’t understand that I don’t care about what my opponent says or what they do. Doesn’t make any difference for me. My respect for them will keep being the game. When I get in the cage, that’s a job for me where I always try to be the best and make history. What my opponent says doesn’t make any difference to me. What will make me more eager to win was my dedication in the training and Brazilian people cheering for me and pushing me forward.”
Gamrot went on to suggest that he would not only beat or perhaps finish his adversary in the Octagon, but that he would be the cause of Oliveira’s retirement.
“How come [he wants to] finish my career,” Oliveira asked. “I’m not even close to retirement. To tell you the truth, he is saying all that because he is aware of the trouble I am. Look at my numbers, look at the names I’ve faced. Every day I’m feeling better. If he has this thought, I really don’t know what to say.
Despite Oliveira shrugging off most of what Gamrot is throwing at him, he knows that beating “Gamer” would still amount to a significant feather in his cap. Not looking past his opponent, he does have a goal in mind after prevailing on Saturday: a rematch with Max Holloway for the BMF belt.
“I believe that a win over Gamrot and Holloway in the beginning of 2026 can lead me to the title again,” he noted, “mainly now when the top of the division is tangled.”
Oliveira is coming off a championship loss to Ilia Topuria for the vacant 155-pound throne, one he initially surrendered not by losing but by missing weight ahead of his pairing with Justin Gaethje at UFC 274. Topuria knocked him out in under half a round at the end of June, but any thoughts about him coming back too soon or relocating weight divisions are not on his radar.
“I’m 100% sure about [returning quickly after the June knockout],” he expressed. “My team supported me, so why not? That’s what matters to me.”
Motivation Remains Strong
Having missed weight at lightweight in the past, it is not an alien concept for Oliveira to consider moving up 15 pounds to welterweight. He has acknowledged fans and pundits floating the idea for some time, but he is not so sure. To him, it would have to be for a solid reason.
“Why not [move up to welterweight], if it’s something special to my legacy with good payment, why not,” he asked back to media.
As a soon-to-be 36-fight UFC veteran, Oliveira may not have much more to prove in a sport where he became the champion in one of its toughest divisions. Motivation plays a factor at his age, but he believes it is still under control.
“My motivation is [to] keep doing what I do, stay around the people I love and fight for the belt again. [As long as] I still have it, I’ll keeping doing what I do and will keep searching for the gold,” the ex-champ said confidently.
Most marquee-level fighters in the organization have circled parts of their 2026 calendar ahead of the prospective UFC White House event. While President Donald Trump recently came out saying it would be held on June 14, a Sunday and his birthday, the UFC has suggested it may play out later in the month but not on July 4 weekend. Everybody seems to want to get on that event, and that includes “Do Bronxs.”
“When we talk about legacy, for sure, being [on] the White House card would be something gigantic. If the UFC needs me, I’m ready,” he relayed.
When asked of who he would like to face if given the choice, he had but one name.
“Everybody knows who,” he responded. “Charles and Conor McGregor in the White House would be the money fight.”
Another possible option for the top match on the UFC White House event is an oft-discussed light heavyweight or heavyweight championship match between Alex Pereira and Jon Jones. While Jones last competed at heavyweight, and Pereira won the 205-pound throne back, a meeting between the two would likely be one of the biggest the company could offer. Does Oliveira think it is possible for that to come together? Not so much.
“That would be complicated to talk about,” Oliveira replied when asked about Pereira-Jones. “I admire jones a lot, and he was there in some of the most important landmarks of my career. When I fought the first time, he was there. When I fought chandler, he was there. So that’s a fight that I would like to sit in the first row [and enjoy]. Of course, I’ll cheer for Brazil and ‘Poatan,’ but I’ll be apprehensive. But I truly think that anyone who stays in front of ‘Poatan’ runs the risk to be knocked out if he connects [cleanly].”
The respect and faith in Pereira may be at an all-time high, nearly a week removed from “Poatan” clobbering Magomed Ankalaev in 80 seconds to reclaim his strap. Post-event conversations posited the all-time great status of the former kickboxer, to achieve what he has in such a short time with his background. Oliveira may not be ready to crown Pereira as the greatest to ever do it, but he acknowledges that we have re-entered the “Poatan” era.
“It’s all phases,” he analyzed. “There was Anderson Silva time, Jose Aldo time. Now we are in ‘Poatan’ time. Everyone had a spectacular important on the growth of the sport. Before them, there were other guys from the Pride era.”
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
Help support MMACrazies.com when you shop Amazon by starting your online Amazon shopping at MMACrazies.com/recommends/amazon. You are not charged extra, but we receive a small and very helpful commission on everything you purchase. Thanks for thinking of us every time you shop at Amazon.
