At UFC 262 Charles Oliveira capped off an incredible career trajectory that, over the past ten years, has seen him transform from a middling and inconsistent featherweight to the UFC lightweight champion. To achieve that feat he outclassed and TKO’d fellow top contender Michael Chandler.
The win was Do Bronx’s 9th win in a row and was preceded by wins over Tony Ferguson, Kevin Lee and Jared Gordon. His last loss was all the way back in 2017, to Paul Felder.
The feelgood story around Oliveira’s ascension is not just because he has toiled in the UFC for over a decade and improved greatly over that time. It’s also because he appears to be a kind, generous and well-loved person.
Oliveira is known to pay forward his successes with food package donations to people who live in the favelas of Guarujá, São Paulo, which is where he grew up.
So it should come as no surprise that when Oliveira returned to Guarujá as a champion he received a hero’s welcome. Check out the video below to see Oliveira being given a parade on the back of a firetruck and then being mobbed by jubilant fans.
Oliveira was also greeted by a new mural in his hometown. The mural was created by Wilis Cavalcante. He spoke to MMA Fighting about the piece and his inspiration.
“I’ve always wanted to paint something about Charles and didn’t even think about the fight that was coming up,” he said. “He’s awesome. I found that gigantic wall and said, ‘this is it.’ And it turned out that it was right around his title fight.
“I woke up on Sunday without knowing the result of the fight. I got a lot of texts saying he won and it was so much celebration. I watched some highlights of the fight and went back to the wall to finish the mural. It was amazing.”
Oliveira will now likely face the winner of the upcoming Dustin Poirier vs. Conor McGregor trilogy fight. That happens at UFC 264 on July 10.
About the author
