The UFC Fight Night card in Rio de Janeiro has a new main event. Charles Oliveira vs. Mateusz Gamrot headlines the Oct. 11 card after Rafael Fiziev, Oliveira’s previous opponent, pulled out.
UFC announced the new main event on Tuesday. Oliveira, the former UFC lightweight champion, also confirmed the booking, which pits Oliveira’s world-class submissions against Gamrot’s elite wrestling.
“Opponent: Mateusz Gamrot,” Oliveira said on social media. “This is the guy we’re going to battle in a great war. The rest just wanted the hype, just wanted to stall and talk, but that’s part of it, that’s how it is.
“The focus is still the same fight in the freight of my people, my flag, in my house with a new opponent, so let’s go here and Brazil for now.”
Oliveira (35-11, 1 NC) is currently one of UFC’s most popular acts. A 15-year UFC veteran, Oliveira reinvented himself with an 11-fight win streak between 2018 and 2022. He defeated Tony Ferguson, Michael Chandler, Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje during that stretch, the latter three via stoppage in title fights.
“Do Bronx” has since struggled with consistency, sandwiching wins over Beneil Dariush and Chandler between losses to Islam Makhachev, Arman Tsarukyan, and Ilia Topuria. The upcoming fight will be his first since Topuria knocked him out in a vacant lightweight title fight on June 28. Oliveira holds records for most post-fight bonuses (20), most finishes (20), most performance bonuses (13) and most submissions (16) in UFC history.
Gamrot campaigned for this fight from the moment Fiziev fell out. He’s won four of his last five fights, including a TKO injury win over Fiziev. Most impressively, Gamrot beat Tsarukyan via decision in 2022. A recent loss to Dan Hooker sparked questions about Gamrot’s ability at the elite level, but a win over Oliveira would remedy that.
