UFC submission king Charles Oliveira got off to a wild start to his legendary career in the Octagon.
Charles Oliveira sits atop the UFC’s all-time submissions list and has become one of the promotion’s all-time legends. Oliveira will likely earn himself a place in the UFC Hall of Fame once he opts to hang up the gloves, but he has a ways to go before he walks away from fighting.
Oliveira will face former UFC featherweight champion Ilia Topuria in the UFC 317 next month in Las Vegas. He and Topuria will fight for the vacant lightweight championship after Islam Makhachev announced a move to the welterweight division earlier this month.
Oliveira’s path to becoming the UFC’s all-time submission king was a long, winding road. It all began when Oliveira made his UFC debut against Darren Elkins in Aug. 2010.
Charles Oliveira overcame a brutal slam to trap Darren Elkins in a nasty submission
Oliveira, a featherweight at the time of his promotional debut against Elkins, faced some early adversity against his opponent in the Octagon. Just seconds into the fight, Elkins picked up Oliveira and slammed him into the canvas, in an early scary moment for the future UFC champion.
But Oliveira utilized being in bottom position to his advantage, showcasing his elite Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu skillset. Elkins originally thought Oliveira was stunned by the brutal slam and looked visibly surprised at Oliveira’s ability to recover quickly from the Round 1 moment.
Oliveira trapped Elkins in a triangle, leaving his rival with nowhere to go. The BJJ ace Oliveira proceeded to snap Elkins’s arm with a nasty armbar submission to win his UFC debut.
Oliveira’s win over Elkins marked what would be his first of 16 UFC submission victories during his promotional tenure. Check out Oliveira’s bounceback performance below against Elkins.
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Charles Oliveira is weeks out from possible redemption at UFC 317
Oliveira and Topuria have traded barbs for weeks before their UFC 317 title fight. Before Makhachev’s announced move to welterweight, a potential clash between Oliveira and Topuria was teased for weeks, as both fighters made strong cases for the next lightweight title shot.
With Makhachev out of the picture, Topuria will turn his attention towards Oliveira as he looks to pursue a second UFC world championship reign. He opted to vacate the UFC featherweight title earlier this year, which was later won by Alexander Volkanovski over Diego Lopes at UFC 314.
Oliveira predicts his upcoming fight with Topuria won’t go the distance, promising a brutal knockout inside the Octagon. But Topuria is equally confident in his chances ahead of UFC 317, as he looks in phenomenal shape in recently released training footage.
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