Charles Oliveira needs a new opponent for his UFC return, but a popular choice among fans has apparently pulled his name out of the hat.
Oliveira’s plan to make a quick return to winning ways hit a roadblock recently. The former lightweight champion was scheduled to headline UFC Rio in front of his home fans, but Rafael Fiziev was forced out of that main event on October 11.
The news actually marked somewhat of a relief for those who were concerned about the quick turnaround time following Oliveira’s knockout loss to Ilia Topuria this past June.
However, a number of replacement options quickly emerged and look set to keep ‘Do Bronx’ atop the lineup for the card at Farmasi Arena. But one of the leading names thrown around won’t be taking up the assignment.
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Benoit Saint-Denis’ manager pulls his fighter from the Charles Oliveira discussion
The most popular option for many in the MMA community when it came to a new opponent for Oliveira has been Benoit Saint-Denis. The Frenchman regained much of the hype behind his name at the start of September when he bounced back from consecutive losses in style.
Saint-Denis dominated Mauricio Ruffy at UFC Paris, submitting the Fighting Nerds standout in front of his home fans to hand the Brazilian his first defeat inside the Octagon.
While a fight against Oliveira would provide ‘God of War’ another chance at cracking the lightweight top five over a year on from Saint-Denis’ loss to Dustin Poirier, that looks to be off the table for the time being.
The 29-year-old’s manager, Guillaume Peltier, addressed the speculation on his Instagram Story, insisting that the former UFC lightweight king is too good to be fought on such short notice.
“Given the number of requests about this, I prefer to state right now, there will be no BSD vs Oliveira in October,” Peltier wrote.
“We respect Oliveira far too much to take it that way. This kind of fight needs preparation,” he added.
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Mateusz Gamrot flies to the United States after offering to face Charles Oliveira
While Saint-Denis is seemingly out of the equation, the UFC and Oliveira still have other options.
Two names teased filling in to fight Oliveira in Brazil, including the former champion’s fellow countryman, Renato Moicano. But the front runner would appear to be the division’s No. 8-ranked contender, Mateusz Gamrot.
The Polish standout passionately made his claim in a social media post soon after news of Fiziev’s withdrawal emerged.
“I’m ready and hungry to jump in!! Come on @ufc,” Gamrot wrote on X.
And another post showing ‘Gamer’ en route back to the United States, where he trains at American Top Team, has further increased speculation that he has been given the late-notice call.