Charles Oliveira and Max Holloway are expected to rematch for the BMF belt in 2026, but it won’t be as early as January as a deleted post from UFC Brasil’s X account indicated.
The former UFC lightweight champion said he’s in conversations with the promotion but doesn’t have a definitive word yet on when they will fight. He, however, has target months in his mind.
“Look, there’s nothing confirmed about my fight, Max Holloway and I for January,” Oliveira said on his Instagram stories. “I’m on vacation with my family. That [post] came out these days and there’s a lot of people calling me, tagging me. So far, we don’t know anything. And it certainly won’t be in January, just to make it clear. But this fight will happen. I want it, he wants it, and you also want it.”
Oliveira asked for this rematch after losing a vacant title match against Ilia Topuria earlier this year, and kept campaigning for it after his submission victory over Mateusz Gamrot weeks later in the main event of a UFC card in Rio de Janeiro.
Holloway hasn’t fought since defending the BMF title versus Dustin Poirier in July, rebounding from a featherweight loss to Topuria in late 2024.
“We’re just waiting for the contract, but I believe it should be around March or April, so I expect to have some news soon,” Oliveira said. “It that [post] came out it means something is coming. Not now, but soon.”
Holloway and Oliveira fought in August 2015, but the 145-pound match only lasted 99 seconds, with the Brazilian suffering a freak neck injury that led to the end of the contest. “Blessed” became UFC champion just over a year later, and Oliveira had to wait almost six years to touch UFC gold.
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