Charles Oliveira had no regard for Nik Lentz’s well-being when he hit him with an illegal knee, which did real damage to him in 2011.
Their fight in Pittsburgh was one of the preliminary fights on the card headlined by Cheick Kongo’s first-round knockout win over Pat Barry.
This was a decade-and-a-half before Charles Oliveira’s bout against Ilia Topuria at UFC 317, showing a much more rash side of the Brazilian.
Charles Oliveira and Nik Lentz managed to make a splash at the event, but not in a way either of them would have imagined.
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Charles Oliveira hit Nik Lentz with an illegal knee during his 2011 victory
Oliveira completely flouted the rules when he hit Lentz with one of the most disgusting knees you’ll ever see in the UFC.
Early in the second round, Oliveira had Lentz on his knees in a hold, quickly jumping to his feet while still controlling his head.
Much to the disdain of the crowd, Oliveira thrust his knee, which was at head height for Lentz, into the skull of the American fighter, sending him sprawling on the ground.
Blood soon began to flow from his face as the crowd began to boo, knowing that what he had done was against the UFC’s rules.
Joe Rogan on commentary was shocked that the referee missed the illegal knee.
He remarked, “Oh no! That was an illegal knee! The referee didn’t say anything about it, but the audience is aware.
“They’re booing. That illegal one did a ton of damage!”
Soon after, Oliveira hit another knee (this time legal) before locking in a rear-naked choke to force Lentz to tap out. The crowd continued to cheer his celebrations, not respecting his rule-breaking and the referee’s poor handling of the fight.
To help protect the fighter’s safety, it is illegal to deliver a knee or kick to the head of a grounded opponent in the UFC. Oliveira’s knee was a textbook example of an illegal knee that did real damage to his opponent.
The illegal knee fractured Nik Lentz’s eye socket, and the match with Charles Oliveira was changed to a no contest
Despite the referee missing what the commentators and crowd clearly saw was an illegal knee, the match was reviewed soon after, and the result was changed.
The bout was changed to a no-contest after the Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission overruled the referee’s decision.
This took away what would have been an impressive win for Oliveira if not for his rule-breaking.
However, the damage done to Lentz was far greater. He fractured his eye socket when his face collided with Oliveira’s knee, which was clear from the amount of blood coming from his face following the fight.
This was the start of a trilogy of fights between Lentz and Oliveira, although he would struggle to get his revenge as the Brazilian won their next two bouts, by submission and TKO, respectively.