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UFC Rio reportedly gets another late addition alongside new Charles Oliveira fight

Originally posted on MMA on SI | By Drew Beaupre | Last updated Sep 24, 2025 9:30 AM ET

In what should be the final fight added to the card, Brazilian bantamweights Luan Lacerda and Saimon Oliveira are reportedly set to meet at UFC Rio.

It’s been a busy few days for combat sports fans looking ahead to UFC Rio, which is scheduled to go down on October 11 at Farmasi Arena. An injury to Rafael Fiziev briefly jeopardized Charles Oliveira’s headlining spot on the card, but yesterday the UFC announced that Mateusz Gamrot is stepping in to meet the former lightweight champion on short notice.

With UFC Rio now a little over two weeks away, Higor Ciconcello reports that the card will be rounded out by a bantamweight clash between Lacerda and Oliveira.

Saimon Oliveira Stares Down Possible 0-4 UFC Run

Following a split decision win over Jose Alday that won him a UFC contract on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2021, Oliveira has struggled to find success in the Octagon through three UFC outings.

The DWCS victory over Alday extended Oliveira’s winning run to five fights dating back to 2018, but in his promotional debut at UFC 270 the Brazilian came out on the wrong end of the scorecards against Tony Gravely. Following a year on the sidelines, Oliveira returned at UFC 283 and was stopped by Daniel Marcos in the second round.

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The Marcos fight ended up being Oliveira’s last outing before a layoff of more than two years, and the 34-year-old fell to 0-3 in the UFC when he met David Martinez in March and was caught by a counter punch late in the opening round.

Luan Lacerda Hasn't Fought Since 2023

A former Shooto Brasil bantamweight champion, Lacerda will return to action for the first time since 2023 when he meets his countryman Oliviera at UFC Rio.

The 32-year-old also fought at UFC 283 and dropped a decision to Cody Stamann in his promotional debut, which ended a 10-fight win streak where all but one of his victories came via submission. Lacerda returned to action in June of that year to face Da’Mon Blackshear, who finished the Brazilian with ground and pound in the second round.

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Both Lacerda and Oliviera will likely be fighting for their places on the UFC roster at UFC Rio, and the bantamweight matchup brings the card to full capacity with 14 total fights just a couple weeks out from the event on October 11.

UFC Rio Fight Card

• Main Event: Charles Oliveira vs. Mateusz Gamrot

• Co-Main Event: Deiveson Figueiredo vs. Montel Jackson

• Jhonata Diniz vs. Mario Pinto

• Vicente Luque vs. Joel Alvarez

• Gabriel Bonfim vs. Randy Brown

• Valter Walker vs. Mohammad Usman

• Lucas Rocha vs. Stewart Nicoll

• Vitor Petrino vs. Thomas Petersen

• Julia Polastri vs. Karolina Kowalkiewicz

• Irinia Alekseeva vs. Beatriz Mesquita

• Jafel Filho vs. Clayton Carpenter

• Lucas Almeida vs. Michael Aswell

• Ricardo Ramos vs. Kaan Ofli

• Luan Lacerda vs. Saimon Oliveira