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Charles Oliveira crowns UFC 320 standout as the real pound-for-pound No.1, not Alex Pereira

Originally posted on HITC | By Ross Markey | Last updated Oct 10, 2025 12:11 PM ET

Charles Oliveira feels there is one fighter from UFC 320 who deserves to be at the top of the pound-for-pound rankings.

Coming off a tough knockout loss to Ilia Topuria in their lightweight title fight earlier this year, Oliveira is set to put his future title hopes on the line once again this weekend.

The former champion returns home to headline UFC Rio, taking on Mateusz Gamrot in a main event that came together on short notice.

But while many are looking ahead to what this fight means for the Brazilian’s own path back to contention, he has also been vocal about what he sees as an overlooked storyline coming out of UFC 320.

Charles Oliveira backs Merab Dvalishvili as the UFC’s top fighter

‘Poatan’ jumped up the pound-for-pound rankings after knocking out Magomed Ankalaev, but has not yet climbed to the top spot.

Meanwhile, his countryman Oliveira, who is known for his finishing ability and submission skills, believes that place belongs to UFC 320 co-main eventer Merab Dvalishvili.

He explained it to TNT Sports: “The guy who has been doing a great job out there, who I really like to watch is Merab (Dvalishvili).”

Charles Oliveira names Merab Dvalishvili as the UFC’s No. 1 fighter right now

(via @ufcontnt ) pic.twitter.com/Gv6VUbXpfr
— Red Corner MMA (@RedCorner_MMA) October 9, 2025

During that interview, Oliveira also named himself as Brazil’s greatest fighter and said he owns the most impressive submission win in UFC history.

Merab Dvalishvili eyes showdown with former pound-for-pound king

Dvalishvili, fresh off his commanding victory over Cory Sandhagen, has made it clear he wants to stay busy and is already eyeing a return to the cage as early as December.

Looking to build on his title reign, ‘The Machine’ has been linked with potential defences against Umar Nurmagomedov and Petr Yan as he aims to break records in the bantamweight division.

But there is growing talk from his camp about a move up in weight for a superfight against one of the sport’s former top pound-for-pound names, Alexander Volkanovski.

This article first appeared on HITC and was syndicated with permission.

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