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Charles Oliveira is one of the most beloved MMA fighters in the world. He is a former UFC lightweight champion and a future UFC Hall of Famer. His campaign at 155 pounds has become the stuff of legend, as the bulk of it saw him become the greatest finisher the promotion has ever seen.
However, this wasn't always the case. Several years ago, 'do Bronx' struggled for consistency, as he won some fights and lost others, amid disastrous weight cuts and failures against top-level competition. Had things gone differently even further back in time, Oliveira might have never become a fighter at all.
As a child, the Brazilian was met with life-changing diagnoses. Doctors advised him against playing sports and even feared that he would become paraplegic. How then did a child expected to lose his ability to walk go on to become the greatest action fighter in UFC history?
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Charles Oliveira's difficult childhood
Charles Oliveira was born in Guarujá, São Paulo, where he spent his childhood in the Vicente de Carvalho favela. Despite living in poverty, Oliveira's childhood wasn't one bereft of hope. He had friends, and did as most Brazilian children did and still do; take part in the national sport of football.
Alongside his friends, he played in the streets of his favela, hoping to one day make a career as a professional footballer. Unfortunately, at age seven, he was floored by two diagnoses of rheumatic fever and heart murmur. The former is an inflammatory disease that affects the joints, skin, heart and brain.
The latter, meanwhile, is an oddity in the sound of one's heart, caused by turbulent blood flow across a heart valve or blood vessel. For Oliveira, this meant constant bouts of crippling pain, such that he could barely walk. Doctors advised him against playing sports and even feared that he'd become paraplegic.
But, even at his young age, Oliveira had faith. He vowed not to allow his medical condition to define him, swearing that he would find success in athletics. Football, however, wasn't in the cards, as the barrier to entry proved impenetrable for all but the uber-talented with the right connections and resources.
Instead, he continued to play sports against the advice of doctors, and by some miracle, Oliveira's condition alleviated itself. By age 12, he was introduced to Brazilian jiu-jitsu by a neighbor, and took to the martial art with supreme ease, becoming a regional champion within two months of training.
As the years went by, Oliveira found increasing success on the Brazilian jiu-jitsu mats, capturing various titles as he climbed in belt rank. However, he opted against pursuing further glory at the black belt level. He instead opted to follow in the footsteps of Royce Gracie and venture into MMA.
Charles Oliveria's journey from MMA prospect to failure
Charles Oliveira's first 12 professional MMA fights were wildly successful. The Brazilian went undefeated, finishing everyone who dared enter the cage with him. His dominance in the Brazilian regional scene earned him the attention of the UFC, who promptly signed him.
His promotional debut couldn't have gone any better, as 'do Bronx' submitted Darren Elkins with a triangle armbar in 41 seconds. His performance sparked a surge of excitement, and his subsequent win in his sophomore UFC fight, this time a third-round rear-naked choke over Efrain Escudero, left everyone stunned.
Check out Charles Oliveira submitting Darren Elkins:
Oliveira was the real deal, and he was immediately thrown into the shark tank at lightweight, where he subsequently faced a man who would go on to score the most wins in UFC history; Jim Miller. The bout, however, was not a crowning moment for Oliveira, instead marking the beginning of a rough patch.
In a shocking performance, 'do Bronx' was submitted in round one. His next fight saw him take part in a no-contest with Nik Lentz after illegally kneeing the latter. To make matters worse, he was next TKO'd by Donald Cerrone. Within a year, Oliveira went from being undefeated to being on a three-fight winless streak.
The losses had the Brazilian convinced that he was better suited to featherweight, and his first two bouts at 145 pounds, much like lightweight, proved successful. But his purple patch was short-lived, as he suffered back-to-back losses to Cub Swanson and Frankie Edgar, with 'do Bronx' missing weight against the former.
Check out Cub Swanson knocking out Charles Oliveira:
While he managed to rebound with a four-fight win streak, he missed weight for a second time, and went 2-4 thereafter, missing weight two more times, with the final weigh-in scandal occurring just before his return to lightweight. By then, Oliveira had a reputation as both a failure and a quitter.
He was dismissed as a fun but ultimately overhyped, flawed and undisciplined fighter, but all this accomplished was motivate him.
The illumination of Charles Oliveira
After a crushing loss to Paul Felder, Charles Oliveira realized that faith alone would not carry him to the summit of MMA glory. He tightened up his striking and became a devastating Muay Thai specialist that almost no lightweight wanted anything to do with on the mat.
This enabled Oliveira to fight recklessly without fearing takedowns. Furthermore, it afforded him the luxury of recovering from knockdowns at his leisure, as his opponents were hesitant to follow him to the mat, even after dropping him. Armed for success, he authored a jaw-dropping 8-fight win streak.
Along the way, he submitted Kevin Lee and dominated Tony Ferguson on the mat en route to a unanimous decision win. This earned him a long-awaited crack at the then-vacant lightweight title at UFC 262, where he faced three-time Bellator lightweight champion Michael Chandler.
Check out Charles Oliveira submitting Kevin Lee:
Round one of their clash saw Oliveira in dire straits, as he was rocked and knocked down by 'Iron,' who seemed like he could melt the Brazilian with every single strike he landed, significant or otherwise. But Oliveira had worked too hard for too long to have his chance at glory stolen from him.
He survived to see the end of round one, and in round two, found an opening for a perfect left hook, flooring his foe. Reeling from the knockdown, Chandler tried desperately to survive, but Oliveira chased him down and pounced, dropping him again before follow-up ground-and-pound awarded him the TKO win.
Finally, 'do Bronx' could call himself the greatest lightweight in the world. He was the new lightweight champion, and in TKO'ing Chandler, had broken the promotional record for the most finishes in history. But now, he took on the daunting challenge of escaping from Khabib Nurmagomedov's shadow.
Check out Charles Oliveira knocking out Michael Chandler:
The Dagestani retired as the undefeated lightweight champion, vacating the title to watch the common lightweight rabble squabble over a prize he no longer valued. How then, could Oliveira break away from any talk of being a paper champion? By finishing Nurmagomedov's past opponents quicker.
At UFC 269, he had a back-and-forth thriller with Dustin Poirier, submitting him a minute before Nurmagomedov had, netting his first title defense. Afterward, he faced Justin Gaethje at UFC 274. Ahead of the pair's bout, 'do Bronx' was at the center of a weigh-in scandal.
He missed weight by half a pound and was formally stripped of the lightweight title. This drew tremendous criticism, as Oliveira disclosed that he had been on weight when using the practice scale, while other fighters cited irregularities they had experienced with the scales.
The perceived injustice of a potentially inaccurate scale causing Oliveira to be stripped of his title for being just half a pound over the limit no less, turned him into a sympathetic figure. The UFC's decision to strip him was regarded as unnecessarily harsh, and many stood in Oliveira's corner.
Gaethje, the Brazilian's opponent, had spent the pre-fight proceedings labeling Oliveira a quitter, citing past instances of the latter's perceived surrender in tough situations. He vowed to make him pay for missing weight, and it only made the support for the Brazilian grow.
Despite being stripped of his crown, he was still universally regarded as the lightweight champion and aimed to finish Gaethje faster than Nurmagomedov had. To his credit, he did, dropping and submitting him within three minutes of round one. Suddenly, 'do Bronx' was on an 11-fight win streak and looked unstoppable.
Check out Charles Oliveira submitting Justin Gaethje:
Oliveira, a devout Christian, was, as he described, illuminated by God. Next, he faced his legacy's greatest test. If he was to be regarded as better than 'The Eagle,' he would have to beat the latter's protegé, Islam Makhachev. Ahead of their UFC 280 clash, 'do Bronx' was supremely confident, perhaps even cocky.
He disregarded his foe's chances and felt so certain of his superiority as a grappler that come fight night, he willingly pulled guard to invite Makhachev to the mat. This, however, was a mistake. Makhachev maintained top control and later scored a takedown to clearly win round one.
In round two, Oliveira attempted an ill-advised flying knee and was countered by a right hook when he had just one foot on the mat. He was knocked down, and unlike his past foes, Makhachev showed no fear in following him to the mat, not after controlling him in round one.
Within seconds, the Dagestani applied an arm-triangle choke and Oliveira tapped to crown Makhachev the new lightweight champion. For Oliveira, it was a deflating loss, but not the end of his story. He congratulated Makhachev and returned home to lick his wounds.
A year later, he staked his claim as the number one contender by demolishing elite lightweight, Beneil Dariush, whose 8-fight win streak had elevated him into title contention. In four minutes, 'do Bronx' TKO'd him to book a title rematch with Makhachev at UFC 294.
Check out Charles Oliveira TKO'ing Beneil Dariush:
Unfortunately, a cut suffered in sparring forced him to withdraw from the bout. Now, he is set to face Arman Tsarukyan, who also scored a first-round knockout over Dariush. The pair will cross swords at UFC 300, where Oliveira will look to finish one more foe on his path back to a throne he feels was usurped.
