Jun 28, 2025; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Ilia Topuria (pink gloves) fights Charles Oliveira (blue gloves) throughout UFC 317 at T-Cell Enviornment. Obligatory Credit score: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Pictures Future UFC Corridor of Famer Charles Oliveira is wanting forward not solely to Saturday’s UFC Struggle Night time matchup towards Mateusz Gamrot but in addition in direction of including one other belt to his trophy case and even to a possible last struggle towards BMF champion Max Holloway.
Whereas many are on the lookout for Oliveira (35-11 MMA, 23-11 UFC) to rebound from his first-round knockout by Ilia Topuria in June’s light-weight title struggle, the Brazilian appears centered on the long run.
“Preventing for the title, whether or not it is BMF or the title of the division. It is a nice struggle that may assist me transfer in direction of the title,” Oliveira informed Shak MMA of the matchup in Rio that can be his first time preventing in entrance of his hometown Brazilian crowd since November 2019.
He inserted some intrigue into the combination by including, “Everybody would like to see the Max struggle and I need this to be my final struggle.”
Holloway received the one assembly between the pair, at a UFC Struggle Night time in August 2015, by a first-round TKO after Oliveira suffered an damage that has been the subject of a lot dialogue since, with the character and severity of the damage being questioned by some.
As just lately as July at UFC 318, Holloway introduced up the subject on UFC’s “About Final Struggle,” saying, “He had an damage after we fought. However final time I checked, after they did a follow-up and needed to seek out what the damage was, there was no damage report on it. They mentioned he was nice. So I don’t know what the f– he’s speaking about.”
Nonetheless, followers should not anticipate such a rematch anytime quickly, with Holloway reportedly out with a hand damage till 2026.
Moreover, the 35-year-old Oliveira informed MMA Junkie that the top of his profession shouldn’t be within the close to future.
“Look, hear, the retirement discuss is in your guys’ head,” Oliveira mentioned. “I’ve by no means mentioned something about retiring. Not a second I’ve talked ‘bout retirement, however in each interview I get requested. I do not know if I am preventing dangerous or if you happen to guys need me to retire. I do not know what’s occurring. Each interview I give, individuals discuss ‘retirement, retirement.’ At no level have I ever thought or contemplated about that, however all of the questions are the identical. I am not occupied with it.”
It will likely be the primary bout for Oliveira since getting knocked out by Topuria simply 2:27 into the UFC light-weight crown struggle in late June, and his first time preventing in his house nation of Brazil since a March 2020 bout that was with out an viewers as a result of COVID-19 pandemic.
He can be going through Gamrot after Rafael Fiziev pulled out with an damage simply weeks forward of UFC Rio. Oliveira mentioned the change so close to to a struggle has been a problem in coaching.
“I used to be centered on a man who comes from a putting background… with two weeks left till the struggle, I’ve to alter my entire gameplan. It’s totally sophisticated,” Oliveira informed Brazilian reporter Laerte Viana. “I do not need to be taken off the cardboard. I requested for this card, I have been coaching like loopy for it. … (Gamrot) is an efficient matchup for me in a way as a result of he is a wrestler/grappler. However it’s fully totally different from the model I have been coaching for the final month or two. It is about understanding and game-planning.”
–Discipline Degree Media
