Future UFC Hall of Famer Charles Oliveira is looking ahead not only to Saturday’s UFC Fight Night matchup against Mateusz Gamrot but also towards adding another belt to his trophy case and even to a potential final fight against BMF champion Max Holloway.
While many are looking for Oliveira (35-11 MMA, 23-11 UFC) to rebound from his first-round knockout by Ilia Topuria in June’s lightweight title fight, the Brazilian seems focused on the future.
“Fighting for the title, whether it’s BMF or the title of the division. This is a great fight that will help me move towards the title,” Oliveira told Shak MMA of the matchup in Rio that will be his first time fighting in front of his hometown Brazilian crowd since November 2019.
He inserted some intrigue into the mix by adding, “Everyone would love to see the Max fight and I want this to be my last fight.”
Holloway won the only meeting between the pair, at a UFC Fight Night in August 2015, by a first-round TKO after Oliveira suffered an injury that has been the topic of much discussion since, with the nature and severity of the injury being questioned by some.
As recently as July at UFC 318, Holloway brought up the topic on UFC’s “About Last Fight,” saying, “He had an injury when we fought. But last time I checked, when they did a follow-up and wanted to find what the injury was, there was no injury report on it. They said he was fine. So I have no idea what the f– he is talking about.”
However, fans shouldn’t expect such a rematch anytime soon, with Holloway reportedly out with a hand injury until 2026.
Additionally, the 35-year-old Oliveira told MMA Junkie that the end of his career is not in the near future.
“Look, listen, the retirement talk is in your guys’ head,” Oliveira said. “I’ve never said anything about retiring. Not a moment I’ve talked ‘bout retirement, but in every interview I get asked. I don’t know if I’m fighting bad or if you guys want me to retire. I don’t know what’s happening. Every interview I give, people talk ‘retirement, retirement.’ At no point have I ever thought or contemplated about that, but all the questions are the same. I’m not thinking about it.”
It will be the first bout for Oliveira since getting knocked out by Topuria just 2:27 into the UFC lightweight crown fight in late June, and his first time fighting in his home country of Brazil since a March 2020 bout that was without an audience due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
He will be facing Gamrot after Rafael Fiziev pulled out with an injury just weeks ahead of UFC Rio. Oliveira said the change so near to a fight has been a challenge in training.
“I was focused on a guy who comes from a striking background… with two weeks left until the fight, I have to change my whole gameplan. It’s very complicated,” Oliveira told Brazilian reporter Laerte Viana. “I don’t want to be taken off the card. I asked for this card, I’ve been training like crazy for it. … (Gamrot) is a good matchup for me in a sense because he’s a wrestler/grappler. But it’s completely different from the style I’ve been training for the last month or two. It’s about understanding and game-planning.”
–Field Level Media
