How UFC Icon Became An Astonishing Lightweight Legend

This warpath of unchecked domination eventually brought him the lightweight championship, which he would defend once before having it ripped away from him in stunning fashion. Still chasing gold, Oliveira makes a stand in his home country at UFC Rio, where he faces Polish standout Mateusz Gamrot.

Although not necessarily known for putting on exciting bouts, Mateusz Gamrot stands as one of the best grapplers in the lightweight category, proven by his stellar list of Octagon victories over Ľudovít Klein, Rafael dos Anjos, Rafael Fiziev and Arman Tsarukyan.

Now back in the winner’s circle following a splendid triumph over the aforementioned Klein back in May, “Gamer” is looking to punch his ticket toward his own shot at the lightweight throne by toppling the venerable Brazilian in his own backyard.

Stepping into the cage for the first time after a mind-blowing knockout loss to Ilia Topuria at UFC 317 for the strap he once held, Oliveira is all business heading into one of the most important contests of his career. At 35 years of age, along with a fighter’s lifetime of accrued damage, this could very well be the South American phenom’s final push toward the top as the possibility of retirement looms in the wake of another stoppage defeat. 

Before he competes this weekend, let’s take a look back at the amazing journey of Charles Oliveira. 

Charles Oliveira’s Early Life, Introduction to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

Born on October 17, 1989, eventual UFC icon Charles Oliveira was born in Vicente de Carvalho in Guarujá, São Paulo, Brazil. Despite the stupendous athlete he would become later in his life, his early childhood was marred by various illnesses, being stricken by both heart murmurs and rheumatic fever at just seven years old. It was during these early years that he also began working to help support his family living in the poverty-ridden favela they resided in, selling food with his mother out of a trailer. 

While working, he, by chance, met a few children who trained in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu at an academy in the area. Becoming friends with these children, the then 12-year old Oliveira was asked to join them at the school to start practicing the discipline as well, which he immediately took to, as his illnesses, which rendered him unable to participate in sports, went away, leaving him much more physically capable.

Training under decorated black belt competitor Roger Coelho, Charles Oliveira came into his own as a grappler in the early 2000’s, becoming a São Paulo champion just two months after first putting on a gi as a white belt. In 2006, he truly left his mark on the sport after capturing 16 medals across many tournaments. Over the next few years, he continued to stack up more and more accolades, netting Jiu-Jitsu championships at both blue and purple belt. 

Early Regional and UFC Run

As 2007 rolled around, aside from fighting in grappling tournaments, Charles Oliveira began to turn his attention towards a budding mixed martial arts career. Making his amateur debut that same year, “do Bronxs” (which is a nod to his home favela and his first gym, Bronx) made himself a fighter to watch out for after submitting Rui Machado in 15 seconds. 

Jumping straight into the professional ranks for his next tilt, the Brazilian proved to be an absolute force of nature on the regional circuit, winning his first 12 fights in a row, even taking him a Ring of Combat belt along the way. This sting of success earned him an invitation to join the UFC, solidifying his place as arguably the best prospect in his country. 

Charles Oliveira Begins Octagon Run

Entering the Octagon for the first time in 2010 at UFC on Versus 2, the newly-minted black belt turned heads in a big way by finishing one of the more durable names in the lightweight class at the time, Darren Elkins with an armbar in just over 40 seconds, who had never been submitted prior. Recording another tapout performance over Ultimate Fighter Winner Efrain Escudero in his next match, Oliveira would finally lose his undefeated status after succumbing to a gruesome kneebar from promotional legend Jim Miller in the first round. 

Going 0-1 with one no-contest in his next two fights in the promotion, eventual UFC icon Charles Oliveira made the decision to drop down to the featherweight division, making his debut in the weight class against Eric Wisely.

Kicking off his start in a new category in monumental fashion, he stopped Wisely with a horrendous calf slicer in almost two minutes. Taking out his second Ultimate Fighter champion in Jonathan Brookins, Oliveira encountered the first skid of his professional career after losing to both Cub Swanson and Frankie Edgar. 

The Swanson setback in particular also marked an unfortunate trend in Oliveira’s time at 145-lb: his tendency to fail on the scales. First missing weight in the Swanson bout, the Brazilian wound up falling short of the mark three times in his nine at featherweight, notably coming in at 155-lb for his 2016 contest with Ricardo Lamas. He also never managed to reach top contender status in the division, losing several crucial tilts against the likes of Max Holloway and Anthony Pettis. 

Return to Lightweight, Surge Toward Lightweight title

Returning to his original home of lightweight in 2017, Charles Oliveira rebounded with a huge first round submission of former Bellator champion Will Brooks, tapping him out with a stellar rear naked choke in just two minutes. The stopping power of the victory didn’t last long, however, as “do Bronxs” would have all his momentum taken from him after faltering to Paul Felder via second round TKO loss. 

While known as a phenomenal fighter and exciting finisher, Oliveira hadn’t been able to truly call himself one of the best competitors on the planet following his doomed stint at featherweight and seemingly similar go at lightweight. It was after a 2018 tapout of divisional veteran Clay Guida that the Brazilian finally began to hit his stride as a championship hopeful, not losing another bout over the next four years. 

Carving an unstoppable swath through the weight class, Oliveira collected key victories over Jared Gordon, Kevin Lee and Tony Ferguson to earn his first pay-per-view main event at UFC 262, where he contended for his first lightweight championship opposite another Bellator icon in Michael Chandler. The belt had been vacated after its previous holder, Khabib Nurmagomedov, retired the following year.   

Debuting in the company four months prior at UFC 257, Chandler stamped his place as a contender by starching fan-favorite striker Dan Hooker in the first round. Before his jump to the UFC, Chandler was already regarded as a decorated lightweight competitor after having won the Bellator 155-lb title on two different occasions. He also had notched wins over world-class opposition like Patricky Pitbull, Benson Henderson, Brent Primus and Eddie Alvarez. 

Although it looked like Oliveira was going to be stopped in the first round by strikes, the Brazilian recovered in time and made it to the second after surviving a terrifying onslaught from the American. Noticeably fatigued at the start of the second, Chandler easily fell prey to a masterfully placed left hook from his opponent, who sent him crashing to the canvas. Pouncing on his wounded foe, “do Bronxs” pinned Chandler up against the cage, dropping him again with punches before the fight was called off, making Oliveira the new UFC Lightweight Champion.   

Charles Oliveira’s Reign and Downfall

Eager to begin his time as champion,  Charles Oliveira leapt back into action that next December at UFC 269, locking horns with one of the best strikers in the organization, Dustin Poirier. Laying claim to the interim 155-lb strap in the not-so-distant past, Poirier was widely-viewed as a supreme threat to the Brazilian. Over the last six years before his meeting with Oliveira, “The Diamond” had only been beaten by the aforementioned Nurmagomedov. In that time span, the American had collected the scalps of various juggernauts like Justin Gaethje, Max Holloway and Conor McGregor twice. 

Although he was compromised from a big punch by Poirier in the early stages of the scrap, Charles Oliveira soon began to take over with his superior grappling, wearing down the challenger with ground-and-pound. It was in the third that the champion sealed Poirier’s fate by jumping to his back and securing the rear-naked choke finish, notching his first title defense.

For his second appearance as the champion, Charles Oliveira next came to blows with reputable hard-puncher Justin Gaethje. Coming off a Fight of the Year bout with Chandler, Gaethje had garnered a well-earned reputation for his physical strength and stand up prowess, defeating striking experts Edson Barboza, Donald Cerrone and Tony Ferguson by knockout. 

However, UFC icon Charles Oliveira ended up missing weight for what was going to be his second defense, weighing in at just half a pound off the championship limit for the lightweight class, forcing the UFC to strip him of the belt. Although the match only lasted a single round, both men came out for blood right from the get-go, with Gaethje dropping and bloodying Oliveira in the first few minutes.

Delivering his own thunderous blow, the Brazilian floored Gaethje, immediately grabbing hold of him and locking in a tight rear-naked choke to force the tap.

While he may have lost his championship to the scales, UFC icon Charles Oliveira still proved he was the apex of the lightweight division with another highlight reel stoppage. This put the South American into a fourth pay-per-view headlining tilt at UFC 280, where he came face-to-face with rising Russian star Islam Makhachev.

Charles Oliveira Faced Tough Test in Islam Makhachev

Undefeated in almost a decade, Makhachev had enjoyed a substantial winning streak 10-bout win streak. Making himself one of the weight category’s boogeymen, the Dagestan native secured his first title shot with triumphs over Drew Dober, Thiago Moisés, Dan Hooker and King Green. 

Being put on the defensive right away, a notably gun-shy Charles Oliveira seemed unable to mount any kind of meaningful resistance due to the amazing kickboxing and wrestling of Makhachev. In the second round, the Russian rocked the Brazilian with a hard counter hook, leaving Oliveira open for a deep arm triangle choke that forced the tap, handing the former champion his first defeat in five years.

Charles Oliveira’s Run Continues and Current Status

Falling short of the lightweight throne after a devastating setback to Makhachev, Charles Oliveira accepted his first non-championship contest since 2020 at UFC 289, taking out Beneil Dariush, who had won his last eight in a row. Over the next year, “do Bronxs” would endeavor to reenter the title conversation, dropping a split decision to up-and-coming contender Arman Tsarukyan at UFC 300 and overcoming Chandler in a rematch later that November at UFC 309. The victory over the latter was enough to nab Oliveira his opportunity to contend for the strap at UFC 317, setting himself up for a superfight with previous featherweight gold standard, Ilia Topuria. 

Joining the UFC in 2020, Topuria had come to prominence for his impressive finishing ability, stopping 145-lb standouts like Damon Jackson, Ryan Hall and Bryce Mitchell, handing the latter his first defeat as a professional.

“El Matador” then secured his place in mixed martial arts history by both knocking out then champion Alexander Volkanovski, handing “The Great” his first loss at 145-lb, and Max Holloway, becoming the only man to best “Blessed” by strikes. Topuria would vacate the throne in 2025 to pursue a second strap at lightweight, leading him on crash course with the equally hard-hitting Oliveira. 

Getting busted up immediately by the sharp punches of the Spaniard, Oliveira tried to wrap up Topuria in a Jiu-Jitsu exchange, attacking the European’s foot while looking for a submission. The fellow black belt was able to escape however, and, after closing the distance on his longer opponent, severed Oliveira’s consciousness with a thudding right hook, leaving the Brazilian lying helpless on the ground to the astonishment of the world.      

Still hunting for his place at the top of the division, Charles Oliveira hopes for a spectacular comeback over Gamrot in his home country. Although he will have the advantage in the striking and Jiu-Jitsu department, the elite-level wrestling of the Pole has bested many of the lightweight class’s finest competitors. Given his advanced age as a combat sports athlete, Oliveira now finds his back to the wall, as one more loss could potentially prove to be the end of Charles Oliveira’s championship ambitions.