Charles Oliveira began his UFC career as a lightweight but moved down to featherweight just six fights later, all the way back in 2012. His run at 145 pounds, however, didn’t go as planned. In 12 fights, Oliveira had his hand raised seven times. Of the five losses, he missed weight multiple times and was finished on four occasions—prompting a return to lightweight in 2017.
Order UFC 317: Topuria vs Oliveira
Once he made the move back up, he never looked back. Aside from one setback against Paul Felder, Oliveira went on to win 12 of his first 13 fights at lightweight, a run that included capturing UFC gold by defeating Michael Chandler at UFC 262. He followed that title-winning performance with submission wins over Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje. Now, having won two of his last three, Oliveira looks to reclaim the throne on June 28 when he faces former featherweight champ Ilia Topuria for the lightweight title at UFC 317.
