The former UFC lightweight champion is set to make a quicker turnaround than he originally expected.
Charles Oliveira was stopped by Ilia Topuria in the first round at UFC 317 as he looked to reclaim the vacant 155 pound title.
After ‘Do Bronx’ took some time off following the defeat, it didn’t take him long to start talking about what will be next for him.
Oliveira previously pitched a rematch with Max Holloway around November time for what would be a suitable BMF title defense for the reigning champion.
However, after the UFC recently announced some plans that they have in place for the coming months, the writing was on the wall regarding his comeback.
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Charles Oliveira set to face Rafael Fiziev over five rounds in the main event of UFC Rio
At the end of July, the UFC announced that they will be returning to the Farmasi Arena in Rio de Janeiro on October 11.
The Fight Night event now has its headliner following initial reports which stated that this card will feature the return of Charles Oliveira.
Following a report from Laerte Viana, the UFC officially announced that Oliveira is coming back to compete in this main event where he will face the #10-ranked Rafael Fiziev.
Considering some of the big names that ‘Do Bronx’ was being linked with after just fighting for the title, the matchup is somewhat of a surprise, but Oliveira suggested in his reaction to the fight being made official that competing in Brazil was his main goal.
Fiziev recently returned to the win column following a three-fight losing streak by beating Ignacio Bahamondes at UFC Baku on June 21.
If ‘Ataman’ is able to go into enemy territory and defeat the former champion, he’ll no doubt have earned the biggest win of his UFC career, which will propel him up the rankings.
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Max Holloway ruling himself out of fighting again in 2026 may have impacted Charles Oliveira’s plans
A lot of fans, and seemingly both fighters, were pushing for Charles Oliveira to face Max Holloway in a rematch next time out.
Unfortunately, the chances of this happening took a big hit recently when Holloway announced that he’s not likely to fight again until 2026 due to a hand injury.
Dan Hooker had also called Oliveira out but again, perhaps the former champion wanting to headline the promotion’s return to Brazil meant that the UFC weren’t left with too many options.
Remarkably, Oliveira hasn’t fought in Brazil since his win over Kevin Lee in 2020 which took place behind closed doors, meaning that he hasn’t competed in front of a home crowd since November of 2019.