Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

UFC fans express concern for Charles Oliveira after official UFC Rio poster release

Originally posted on MMA on SI | By Drew Beaupre | Last updated Aug 30, 2025 1:44 PM ET

The official poster for UFC Rio has dropped, and fans don’t appear to be any happier about the quick turnaround that Charles Oliveira is making for his next fight.

Scheduled to take place at Farmasi Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on October 11, UFC Rio is headlined by a pivotal lightweight matchup between the UFC’s former 155 lbs. titleholder Oliveira and top-ranked contender Rafael Fiziev.

The fight comes less than four months after Oliveira suffered a brutal knockout loss to Ilia Topuria in a fight for the vacant lightweight title at UFC 317, and many fans weren’t thrilled when the 35-year-old decided to sign on for the Fiziev fight instead of take some time off.

Fans Fear For Charles Oliveira At UFC Rio

The UFC has often been criticized for putting out unimaginative fight posters in recent years, and the promotion opted for an interesting approach for UFC Rio by listing Oliveira and Fizeiv’s physical stats instead of any details about their fighting careers.

Our official #UFCRio poster is HERE! pic.twitter.com/q8Firw6lOS
— UFC (@ufc) August 29, 2025

Fans usually don’t hesitate to express their opinions about the quality of the UFC’s event posters, but the announcement of the UFC Rio poster surprisingly generated more commentary on Oliveira’s return than anything else.

"Absolutely ridiculous that this fight's happening. RIP Oliveira" - @lagent213

"UFC used to wait 6 months after a KO" - @DillaGamingWW

"Too soon of a fight after losing in a KO." - @1_2_question

"Rooting for Oliveira but I am afraid.." - @sweep_init

"Too soon for Oliveira after that massive KO, sadly he's gonna lose 100%" - @GianTrades

"Too soon! Charles needs more time off!" - @abennettusa

Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

"1 round KO, bye bye Oliveira" - @Phl2n

"Too soon man... The one that knocked him out isn't even making that fast of a turn around" - @callmethecoach

"Charles is in my top 3 favourite fighters but taking a Fiziev fight about a month after getting starched is not a good idea" - @mcgurkles456

"The favela bouta put a hit out on Dana White because of the f***ery he's putting Charles through every other month." - @BrickedBastard

Rafael Fiziev Could Vault Into Lightweight Title Mix

Now three years removed from his reign with the UFC lightweight title, Oliveira has continued fighting only the elite of the promotion’s 155 lbs. division but has alternated wins and losses since being submitted by Islam Makhachev at UFC 280.

“Do Bronx” earned post-fight bonuses for his last two wins over Beneil Dariush and Michael Chandler, but he also came up short in a UFC 300 matchup with Arman Tsarukyan that would likely have set Oliveira up for a rematch with Makhachev before the latter fighter decided to move up to the welterweight division.

Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

Fan concerns that Oliveira may be returning to quickly from being knocked out in his last fight against Topuria likely have as much to do with the UFC Rio matchup as they do the timeframe. Currently the UFC’s #10-ranked lightweight contender, Fiziev snapped a three-fight skid in his last outing against Ignacio Bahamondes and boasts eight knockouts out of his 13 wins in professional MMA.