UFC 317 star Charles Oliveira’s career as an athlete was in jeopardy before it even got started.
Oliveira is among the UFC’s top fan favorites, having completed an almighty career resurgence to go from Octagon journeyman to one of the world’s best lightweights.
The culmination of the Brazilian’s unexpected rise came at UFC 262 in 2022, where Oliveira knocked out Michael Chandler to win the vacant 155-pound title in a memorable comeback win.
‘Do Bronx’ was able to recover from nearly being finished in round one to floor Chandler with a brutal left hook seconds into round two. And Oliveira’s life as a whole tells a similar story of overcoming adversity.
Charles Oliveira overcame the odds to become a UFC champion after doctors wrote him off
Days before his championship triumph at UFC 262, details of Oliveira’s difficult medical issues during childhood that threatened his career in sports emerged.
Speaking to MMA Fighting’s Guilherme Cruz, ‘Do Bronx’ and his parents reflected on a diagnosis of abnormal heart murmurs and rheumatoid arthritis in his ankles.
Oliveira was told by doctors that he couldn’t compete in sports. Rather than the MMA stardom he went on to achieve, at the time, that meant a heartbreaking inability to play soccer.
“I was hospitalized for two years and doctors told my mom I couldn’t do sports anymore,” Oliveira said. “I loved soccer at the time, I had no idea what combat sports were, but stayed two years in the hospital.
“It sucked because I couldn’t leave. My parents had to work so I basically stayed there by myself all morning. It was hard to get used to it.”
Oliveira’s mother, Ozana Pereira de Oliveira da Silva, was even warned that her son faced a life without being able to walk.
“When (the doctor) said my son had a condition and he may never walk again, I said I believed that God wouldn’t let that happen,” Ozana said.
“But that was a serious condition in his ankle, he couldn’t move it. But thank God my boss helped me a lot, taking us to Sao Paulo for further exams.”
The former UFC lightweight champion proved doctors wrong, and he has since done the same when it comes to those who have doubted him in the UFC and branded him a quitter.
That hasn’t come as a surprise to his father, Francisco Antonio da Silva.
“He’s a fighter and a winner since he’s a kid,” Francisco said. “The doctor said he couldn’t kick a ball, and look at him now. You can’t be beaten.”
Among other achievements, Oliveira has earned over $1 million in bonuses, becoming the first UFC fighter to do so.
Charles Oliveira is an underdog again at UFC 317
If he’s to become a two-time UFC lightweight king, Oliveira has more odds to defy.
After working his way back to the title almost three years on from a defeat to Islam Makhachev, Oliveira headlines UFC 317 against Ilia Topuria in competition for the vacant belt.
Despite his size, experience in the division, and ability to recover from hard shots — something that could be essential against ‘El Matador’ — Oliveira will enter T-Mobile Arena as a significant underdog on June 28.
But that has never deterred ‘Do Bronx’ before, and he remains confident of closing out International Fight Week on top.