Charles Oliveira has carved out one of the most exciting, violent resumes in UFC. After Saturday’s UFC Fight Night, Oliveira wants to stress test that reputation against another all-action star, BMF champion Max Holloway.
Oliveira prepares to fight Mateusz Gamrot at UFC Fight Night in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday. It’s an important fight on two fronts: It’s Oliveira’s first time fighting for his fellow Brazilians in six years, and a potential bounce back from his knockout loss to Ilia Topuria. “Do Bronx” expedited his return to fight in Brazil. His next goal is to add another belt to his trophy case.
“Winning this fight and fighting for the title, whether it’s BMF or the title of the division,” Oliveira told CBS Sports through a Portuguese interpreter. “This is a great fight that will propel me toward a title.”
A Holloway rematch ticks off many boxes. It’s a high-profile fight that thrusts Oliveira forward in the lightweight title picture, while allowing him to redeem his 2015 loss to Holloway.
“Everyone would love to see the Max [Holloway] fight,” Oliveira said. “And I want this to be my next fight.”
Oliveira and Holloway previously fought 10 years ago, before either man became UFC champion. Holloway bizarrely won the fight via an esophagus injury in the first round, a conclusion that kick-started Oliveira’s reputation as a quitter at the time. Oliveira lost three of his next five fights by stoppage.
Only after the Paul Felder fight did he turn a major corner, winning 11 consecutive fights, mostly finishes, while becoming a “Rocky” esque lightweight champion. Holloway’s win over Oliveira was the seventh in an 11-fight stretch that turned him into an all-time great featherweight champion.
Holloway, after beating Dustin Poirier in the latter’s retirement fight, expressed a willingness to fight Oliveira again.
“There’s also Oliveira, I heard he was yapping, saying our first fight was with injuries,” Holloway told UFC’s “About Last Fight” at UFC 318 in July. “He had an injury when we fought. But last time I checked, when they did a follow-up and wanted to find what the injury was, there was no injury report on it. They said he was fine. So I have no idea what the f— he is talking about.”
Check out the full interview with Charles Oliveira below.
In August, Holloway announced a hand injury suffered against Poirier would sideline him until 2026.
Holloway won the ceremonial BMF title with a buzzer-beater knockout of Justin Gaethje at UFC 300, which CBS Sports named its 2024 KO of the Year. The title was originally awarded to Jorge Masvidal after beating Nate Diaz at UFC 244.
