"I didn't know how to throw a single punch" - Watch how Charles Oliveira won his first MMA Grand Prix without knowing how to strike

Former UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira recently harked back to his first MMA Grand Prix. He recalled how he faced and bested some of the best fighters in the Brazilian combat sports scene without knowing how to strike.

The Grand Prix marked Oliveira's professional MMA debut at the age of 18. The opportunity only came around after his teammate Flavio Alvaro was forced out of a one-night, eight-man welterweight Grand Prix as a result of an injury.

'Do Bronx' appeared on the Podpah podcast, where he recalled how he went on to win the Grand Prix at Predador FC 9 and the cash prize after beating three fighters on the same night. It is also interesting to note that Oliveira weighed in for the tournament much lighter than his opponents.

During the interaction, he recalled how he submitted Jackson Pontes, who was billed as the fighter who would go on to win the Grand Prix. He subsequently knocked out Viscardi Andrade, a former UFC fighter:

"Bro, [Viscardi Andrade and I] did two rounds of hard blows and I knocked out the guy. I've never thrown a single punch in my life. I think he came to do something and I closed my eye. God was there, he blessed me, and I landed the punch." [h/t Brazilian MMA Legends on YouTube]

Check out Charles Oliveira's full interaction on the Podpah podcast below:

Charles Oliveira subsequently went on to fight Diego Braga with a number of injuries hindering his performance. However, the thought of earning the $5,000 cash prize carried him past his last fight, earning him the championship title.

Watch footage of the final clash between Charles Oliveira and Diego Braga below:

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Charles Oliveira recalls how he shot to fame following multiple Grands Prix wins

In a previous interaction with MMA Fighting, Charles Oliveira recalled how he earned a significant amount of infamy in Brazil. He asserted that he was known as the king of Grands Prix.

The nickname came about after he made a quick turnaround to stop future UFC fighter Mehdi Baghdad, and went on to win yet another one-night Grand Prix in a mere two weeks.

He further admitted that he started falling in love with MMA after realizing that he could do a lot of good for his close ones if he did well inside the cage:

“I was considered the king of Grands Prix in Brazil. That’s when I really started liking MMA. I noticed I could help my family and my community. One of the first lessons I learned was to never put money over anything. You have to do what you love, and I started to really enjoy doing it, becoming famous and getting noticed.”