Charles Oliveira feels in perfect condition to fight in the main event of UFC Rio on Oct. 11 despite the short turnaround following the most brutal loss of his MMA career.
The former lightweight champion was stopped by Ilia Topuria in the first round on June 28, coming up short in his attempt to reclaim the lightweight title. Six weeks later, the UFC announced “do Bronx” would be returning to action in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, against Rafael Fiziev.
He’s now scheduled to face replacement Mateusz Gamrot after Fiziev withdrew due to an injury.
While fans and fellow fighters worry it could be toon soon for Oliveira to fight against after the Topuria loss, he assures everyone he’s on point to enter the octagon.
“I went back to sparring and I’m training normal,” Oliveira told MMA Fighting in a recent interview. “I don’t feel any headache, I don’t feel anything. [People said] ‘Oh, he’ll feel this and that.’ Man, I don’t feel anything. I’m just training at Chute Boxe the same way I trained for the last fights. I’m fine, I’m happy, you know? What matters the most is you being happy.”
Oliveira said he’s seen criticism towards Chute Boxe for getting him back to action so soon, but the Brazilian star said he was the one who pushed for this opportunity to be the main event of UFC’s upcoming show in Rio de Janeiro.
“I started by saying I didn’t want any fight other than in Rio,” Oliveira said. “I wanted to fight in Rio. In front of my flag, in front of my crowd, for all the messages I’ve received from the Brazilian people. I had to do this fight.”
“Do Bronx” admits that a Max Holloway rematch was his No. 1 choice after losing to Topuria, but seeing “Blessed” sidelined with an injury, unable to return to action in 2025, convinced him to change plans.
“I would have to wait for him until next year, and I wanted to fight soon,” Oliveira said. “I wanted to fight. And that’s when I had this idea, for all the messages and love I’ve received. I said, ‘Man, I wanna fight in Rio. I need to fight in Rio. I want to fight.’ I’m fine, and I’m happy.”
Oliveira’s previous nine bouts were on pay-per-view cards, eight of them in main or co-main event slots, but he said that going back to a Fight Night for the first time in five years was not an issue. UFC’s decision to book Oliveira on a smaller card in Brazil was a surprising one, though, considering his purse and the fact Brazil events don’t generate much revenue in ticket sales due to the real-dollar exchange rate.
“Many people are talking about that,” Oliveira said. “But the reality is, just so you know, is that I’m very happy with everything that’s going on, I’m very happy with everything that was negotiated. I’m very happy to be part of this card, so it’s all 100 percent for me.”
“To be fighting in front of your flag, in front of your people and your family, that definitely pushes you forward,” Oliveira said. “And to be able to come back after five years… That was a whole other Charles. This is a completely different Charles in terms of media, of fanbase. To be able to fight here in Brazil again and have that opportunity with a sold out crowd, that’s gigantic for me.”
Oliveira wanted to be part of a smaller Fight Night event just for the chance to compete in front of his own people in Brazil with a proper crowd, and tickets sold out almost immediately.
“I do sometimes wonder how I’ll be able to handle the emotions,” Oliveira said. “I’m simply focused on the fight. A long time ago I was sitting in Rio — not on front row because I was not the Charles I am today —, sitting where the athletes stay. And out of nowhere the lights go out, and then the lights point at one direction and this song starts to play and Anderson Silva walks out greeting the fans. I looked around and said, ‘I hope that happens to me one day. To fight in Brazil, or just walk out like that.’ I don’t know if it’s going to be more emotional than that, but it’s going to be crazy.”
The former UFC lightweight champion was treated like hero in Canada when he beat Beneil Dariush in June 2023. He now looks to rebound after a rough first-round knockout defeat to Ilia Topuria in June 2025, and expects an emotional moment when he enters the Farmasi Arena in Rio on Saturday.
“I’ll never forget the walkout [in Canada],” Oliveira said. “We were behind the curtains and [my coach] Diego [Lima] telling me,’ Can you see this? Can you hear this?’ My opponent walking out and people booing him. And when they announced me and showed my picture [on the big screen], I got emotional walking out. Can you imagine when they announce me in Rio? It’s all going down.”
The arena will be packed with approximately 15,000 fans to witness Oliveira vs. Gamrot go at it for five rounds or less, but two people in attendance won’t be looking at the eight-sided cage when the bell sounds: Francisco and Ozana, his parents.
“It doesn’t matter where [I fight], they never watch [the fight] because they only watch my walkout,” Oliveira said. “It was like that at UFC Sao Paulo, at home. They only watch my walkout and then get on their knee, no matter where, and pray to God. They only hear what’s going on in the arena or on TV, and I’m sure it won’t be different this time.”
Oliveira tried securing his parents a visa to fly to the United States to watch him perform, but changed plans after the promotion booked him as the main attraction in Rio de Janeiro. They were in the arena in the past, like when “do Bronx” stopped Jared Gordon at the Ibirapuera Gymnasium in Sao Paulo — and Francisco ‘predicted’ the method of victory.
“It was funny that the night I fought Jared Gordon,” Oliveira said, “my dad was in the arena and one person was recording it. He asked my father, ‘How is it going to be tonight?’ My father said, ‘Tonight, he’s knocking him out. He won’t submit him, tonight it’s different.’ And we knocked him out. My father made his prediction and it worked. This time he will be in the arena, sitting on front row, and it will be the same thing again: he will watch my walkout and then get on his knee with my mom and pray.”
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