Concern continues to arise over former UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira’s next fight.
Oliveira’s hope of a return to the 155-pound throne was dealt a blow this past June, when he was the latest victim of Ilia Topuria’s rise to multi-weight glory as an undefeated fighter. Topuria knocked Oliveira out at UFC 317, with the Spaniard needing less than two and a half minutes to find the finishing punch in the curtain closer of International Fight Week at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena.
Given the brutal nature of that result, many were hoping for ‘Do Bronx’ to spend considerable time recovering on the sidelines, especially after seeing what happened to Alexander Volkanovski against Topuria after he returned too quickly after a knockout against Islam Makhachev.
But that will not be the case, with Oliveira instead set to enter the cage just four months later to compete on home soil at the UFC Rio de Janeiro event on October 11.
- LATEST UFC NEWS: Khamzat Chimaev’s 17-second UFC victim explains picking Dricus du Plessis to win at UFC 319
Renato Moicano warns Charles Oliveira of his ex-opponent’s threat at UFC Rio
Oliveira will headline in Brazil against Rafael Fiziev, an always game lightweight contender who currently occupies the No. 10 spot in the rankings. Fiziev lost to Justin Gaethje at UFC 313 this past March, a result that marked his second setback to ‘The Highlight’, but he bounced back by beating Ignacio Bahamondes at UFC Baku in June.
Though he has been unable to break into title contention to date, Fiziev’s talents are well known. And the victim of one of his most brutal wins is no stranger to them.
Renato Moicano was flattened by Fiziev in 2020, contributing to just how highly the Brazilian thinks of his former opponent. In fact, during a video on his YouTube channel, he named ‘Ataman’ as the lightweight division’s best striker over Topuria.
“The worst fight in the whole lightweight rankings for Charles,” Moicano said in response to news of the UFC Rio main event (translated by Sherdog).
“In my opinion, Fiziev is the best striker in the division, actually the best striker I’ve ever faced, and I see the UFC wanting to put Fiziev on a title run again.
“I see Fiziev as the favorite, even fighting in Brazil,” Moicano continued. “The positive side is that the UFC signals to Brazilian fans that it does care about our market. Charles Oliveira is a fighter who could lead pay-per-view sales on any numbered card in the world.”
- UFC THROWBACK: MMA legend was never the same after Brock Lesnar broke his face during devastating UFC beatdown
Daniel Cormier is also concerned for Charles Oliveira
Moicano is far from the only one worried about the former UFC lightweight champion’s next fight. Rather than the matchup itself, Daniel Cormier is concerned about Oliveira’s return timeline.
During a video uploaded to his YouTube channel, ‘DC’ reacted to news of Oliveira’s first fight in Brazil for five years, highlighting the fast turnaround for ‘Do Bronx’ following the most brutal loss of his career thus far.
“Anytime ‘Do Bronx’ fights, I get excited, the world gets excited,” Cormier said. “But then you start to digest the idea that Charles Oliveira last month got knocked out bad. Why so soon?
“That was my thought once I calmed down from the excitement of, ‘Oh, my goodness, Charles Oliveira is fighting again.’ For me, that’s scary when you get knocked out like that.
“You should take a little bit of time before you go back into the Octagon,” Cormier added. “I remember in 2017, I fought Jon Jones. I got knocked out in Anaheim. I got a fight offer right after, and I just said, ‘Nah, I need to let my brain heal. I’ve got to let my mind settle.’ After going out like that. It would not have gone well.”