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Former UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira is trying to retrace his steps back into a title shot after losing his first fight in almost five years when he got submitted by Islam Makhachev in his most recent outing. The first opponent in line for this recovery period will be fellow contender Beneil Dariush, who ‘Do Bronx’ is expected to face in May.
It goes without saying that a win over Dariush is of the utmost importance so Oliveira would not end up with back-to-back losses, which would put the Brazilian much further away from title contention. However, it does not mean that the former champion also cannot find the time for much needed distractions during this preparation period.
Charles Oliveira challenged Defante
Diogo Defante is a Brazilian comedian and internet celebrity known for his slapstick style and his series of videos titled ‘Crazy Reporter’ (Reporter Doidao) in which he takes the streets to interview people and make jokes at important events, such as the 2022 FIFA World Cup, in Qatar. As of the time of this post’s publication, the 31-year-old has 2.3 million subscribers on Youtube, 2.8 million on Instagram and 900 thousand on TikTok.
The comedian’s popularity has been on the rise for the past few years due to his nonsensical antics, which attracted the attention of many other celebrities who enjoy Defante’s style. One of such famous people being Charles Oliveira himself, who recently met Diogo at PodPah, one of Brazil’s biggest podcasts.
On the show, Do Bronx proposed a challenge to Defante, asking the comedian to let him punch Diogo in the stomach with just a fraction of his power. Though Defante seemed hesitant at first, he ended agreeing to Charles’ terms after some convincing and added pressure from the podcast’s hosts.
Charles Oliveira only used 30% of his power
“We could do one without protection, with just 30% of my power. With my left hand. My left hand is the weakest one. I won’t do anything, I’ll just go like this at 30%. Real talk.” Charles explained while making an uppercut motion.
“Relax. I won’t hit you in the ribs. I’ll hit here,” Charles said as he tapped Diogo’s stomach.
“You can hit me wherever you want, my brother,” Defante said. After taking the punch, the comedian’s first comment came in the form of a sarcastic remark, claiming it felt great to take a punch. Following some curse words, Diogo commented he was feeling shortness of breath and proceeded to sit down on the floor for the remainder of the video.
As Charles approached Defante to check on the comedian, Diogo made another playful comment by telling Oliveira that it was not the time to be merciful anymore. “You showed no mercy back then”, he joked and followed it up with more curse words.
Charles Oliveira’s next move
In his last outing, Oliveira (33-9-1 NC) got submitted by the aforementioned Makhachev in a bout for the vacant lightweight title, back in October 2022. The loss snapped an 11-fight winning streak for the 33-year-old, with wins over some of the most notable names in the division, such as Justin Gaethje, Tony Ferguson, Dustin Poirier and Michael Chandler.
Charles’ only other loss prior to the Makhachev one dates all the way back to December 2017, when the Brazilian got TKO’d by Paul Felder. Overall, Do Bronx has a 21-9-1 NC record in the Octagon. The 33-year-old also holds the record for most finish wins in the UFC, with 19 victories.
Now, Charles Oliveira is expected to take on Beneil Dariush at UFC 288’s co-main event, on May 6, in Newark, New Jersey. The card is scheduled to be headlined by a bantamweight title fight between current champion Aljamain Sterling and former title-holder Henry Cejudo.
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