UFC Rio: Oliveira vs Gamrot - Oct 11 ??

[wandshogun09]

Back in Brazil and this is pretty tidy for a Fight Night…

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Charles Oliveira vs Mateusz Gamrot 

Deiveson Figueiredo vs Montel Jackson 

Vicente Luque vs Joel Alvarez

Jhonata Diniz vs Mario Pinto 

Ricardo Ramos vs Kaan Ofli  

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Lucas Almeida vs Michael Aswell

Jafel Filho vs Clayton Carpenter 

Vitor Petrino vs Thomas Petersen 

Irina Alekseeva vs Bia Mesquita

Lucas Rocha vs Stewart Nicoll 

Julia Polastri vs Karolina Kowalkiewicz 

Saimon Oliveira vs Luan Lacerda

 

 

Decent. Obviously the main event is where it’s at. That’s got serious barnburner potential. But there’s a few bits and bobs of interest lower down the card as well, to be fair. Undercard doesn’t really have that one standout fight for me but as an overall card it’s pretty solid, I reckon. As usual, I’ll keep this post updated as the card inevitably changes and takes shape.

 

 

Charles Oliveira vs Mateusz Gamrot is our new headliner. Originally it was Oliveira against Rafael Fiziev but Fiziev dropped out with about three weeks to go. A bunch of names were thrown around as possibilities to step in, with Oliveira later shitting on the lot of them for publicly saying they wanted the fight but then privately declining it when the UFC called. Who knows? I do know though, that when Gamrot started pushing for the fight and was clearly not just posturing for ‘clout’ like the others, Oliveira didn’t seem interested at all, citing Gamrot’s grappling style as an issue because he’d been training for Fiziev who’s a striker. I’m a huge fan of Oliveira but it wasn’t a great look for him. His point wasn’t invalid, it’s just a bit shite when you’re accusing the whole division of saying one thing publicly then not backing it up, but then you’re trying to get out of fighting the one guy who actually was serious and did wanna back it up? Regardless, it’s on now. And while it’s not likely to be as fun a fight to watch as the Fiziev one would’ve been, it’s arguably a more significant and interesting matchup. Gamrot is ranked #8, so higher ranked than Fiziev who’s at #10, and I think the clash of grappling here with Oliveira’s BJJ against Gamrot’s wrestling could actually make for a really entertaining fight. I said it when the Fiziev fight was booked but this feels like a bit too quick of a turnaround for Charles to me coming off that KO loss to Topuria. Feels too soon for him to be back in there but we’ll see.

Amazingly, this will be the first time Charles Oliveira will have fought in front of a Brazilian crowd since November 2019 when he knocked out Jared Gordon in São Paulo. He did fight Kevin Lee in Brazil in 2020 but that was right at the start of the COVID craziness and there were no fans in attendance. Like, nobody. This was the first event after the pandemic really started and it was a while before they started gradually letting small crowds into the Apex for shows again. So yeah, it’s been since 2019, six years, since Oliveira actually fought for a home crowd. That Lee win turned out to be the beginning of his run towards the title and the best stretch of wins of his career. He’s been one of my favourite fighters for years now. Been a fan since pretty much his UFC debut all the way back in 2010 and through all the ups and downs since. It’s been quite a ride. But yeah, he’s coming off a bad loss here…

He got knocked out in the first round by Ilia Topuria in their title fight in June. Of course Charles had been stopped before in his career but never as cleanly and viciously as this. It was rough to watch. Like I said, the quick turnaround here isn’t ideal. June to October doesn’t sound that bad on the surface but after a knockout like that? Considering that the average training camp is usually around 2-3 months long give or take, it means he was probably straight back in camp about a month or so after that Topuria loss. And that’s if he ever actually even took a proper break. You know what these guys are like. He talked about the Topuria loss and people’s concerns about the quick turnaround recently…

“It was his (Topuria’s) night. I was expecting to do a certain thing and it just didn’t happen for me, it happened for him. It was his night. I really wanted to go back and fight the very next day because of all the messages, all the love I received. But my trainer and everything else, they said ‘Let’s go home, let’s rest a little bit and go see the family’ and that’s what I did. Now I’m ready to go.”

“It’s really the fact that I wanted to fight at UFC Rio. There are people that are making comments (about the quick turnaround) but they’re just making the comments out of the goodness of their heart. There are other people that are making the comments meaning bad by it. I’m just happy and focused. Things that happened in the past have already passed. I’m not going to bring them up again. This is a new fight, a new place.”

“I’m very, very happy for this. It has been a long time since I last fought in Brazil. Being able to fight again in Brazil is very important to me, to carry our flag is very important. People are trying to retire me before I want to retire. I really don’t think about this desire to retire. I think I’m in a good phase right now. I think there’s still a lot to happen, a lot I can show. What I tell everybody is that I feel a lot of pleasure in doing what I’m doing. So when you’re doing something that you’re still happy to do, and still have the will to do it, you gotta keep going.” - Charles Oliveira

I like his positivity but he’s gonna turn 36 a few days after this fight and this’ll be his 48th pro fight. And a lot of them were hard battles. People will understandably look at the stoppage losses but, even the fights he won, he took his licks in a lot of them as well. It’s part of what’s made him so popular. Even back when he was the champion he’d get dropped and have to drag himself off the canvas to rally back and find the finish himself. It’s made him such an exciting fighter to watch but there’s a limit to how many times you can do that before all the punishment starts to catch up to you. And I hope I’m wrong but I fear we might be at that stage with Oliveira now. No shame losing to Topuria obviously. But even before that, while he won wide on the scorecards, the fact he was taken the distance by an ageing, inactive Michael Chandler wasn’t great. I don’t know. But 36 is a good innings for a Lightweight’s prime, especially one with the style and amount of fights Oliveira’s had. I really hope I’m barking up the wrong tree but I get the feeling we might look back on that Topuria loss as the beginning of a sharp decline where Oliveira’s concerned.

Gamrot jumping in on around three weeks notice is obviously a big ask. From everything I see of him though, it seems like he’s rarely out of the gym. Always seems to be in shape and even when he doesn’t have a fight booked himself, he’s one of those fighters who seems to always be grafting or helping a teammate in their camp. He was a constant presence in Dustin Poirier’s camps at American Top Team. The fucker doesn’t go home. He’s 34 years old now with a record of 25-3-0-1 and 13 finishes. Former KSW two division champion at Featherweight and Lightweight and in the UFC he has wins over Jeremy Stephens, Carlos Diego Ferreira, Arman Tsarukyan, Jalin Turner, Rafael Fiziev, Rafael Dos Anjos and most recently he pretty much schooled Ludovit Klein in May. There are asterisks attached to a couple of these wins though. The Tsarukyan decision was dodgy and the Fiziev fight ended on an injury. But no doubt, Gamrot is a handful. Had an absolute corker against Dan Hooker last summer as well, one of the best fights of the year, which he narrowly lost by split decision. He’s no joke. And he’s been waiting for a chance like this against one of the very top names at 155 for a while now. The short notice is never ideal but this is a huge opportunity for him.

Here we go then. Not sure what to expect here really. Oliveira doesn’t know any other way to fight than to go balls to the wall. At 35 years old and almost 50 fights deep into his career, he’s not gonna change his ways now. He comes to scrap every fight but he’s gonna be especially fired up this time, to redeem himself for the Topuria loss and because this one’s on his home turf in Brazil. For Gamrot the motivation is obvious. A win here would be his ticket into the title race. Not sure how it goes. We’ll probably get the best out of this fight if they both opt to grapple. That’s Gamrot’s bread and butter and Oliveira’s got the BJJ chops to make it very entertaining if they go that route. But you know how it goes in MMA. A lot of times when you get two really strong grapplers matched up, they decide to bang it out on the feet instead. If this one goes that way then I’d favour Oliveira pretty strongly. But it’s an interesting one. And for all my concerns about Oliveira and the quick turnaround, if there’s a silver lining to the Fiziev pullout maybe it’s that at least Gamrot isn’t a particularly big puncher. Maybe a grappling heavy fight is exactly what Charles needs right about now. Give that chin a rest. 

 

Deiveson Figueiredo vs Montel Jackson co-main then. Not feeling it really. Jackson just isn’t the kind of name you wanna see Figgy against at this late stage of his career. But I get it in a way. Jackson’s on a winning streak and has earned a step up against a name. Again though, like the Oliveira situation in the main event, the turnaround here for Figgy seems too soon given how his last fight ended with the leg injury. We’ll see how it goes but I thought he’d probably be on the shelf the rest of the year. I was surprised when this fight got announced.

Last time Figgy fought in Brazil was January 2023, losing to Brandon Moreno by doctor stoppage in the fourth fight of their rivalry. He’s 37 years old now, gonna be 38 in December, he’s practically a pensioner when it comes to the lower weight classes but I think there’s still some fight in the old dog yet. Obviously he had a great run at Flyweight, was champ there and beat the likes of Moreno, Joseph Benavidez and current champ Alexandre Pantoja along the way. He’s had mixed results since moving up to Bantamweight but still beat Rob Font, Chito Vera and Cody Garbrandt. His fight with Petr Yan in Macau last year was fantastic as well, despite being a losing effort for Figgy. It’s the Cory Sandhagen loss in May that causes some concern here though. He lost that one by TKO after suffering a knee injury while going for a leg lock and getting reversed. Watching it in real time, and taking Figgy’s age into consideration, it felt like a disaster for him. I was sure he’d be on a lengthy layoff after that but apparently he managed to avoid surgery. Hopefully he’s all good now and it doesn’t hinder him going forward but, I don’t know.

Montel Jackson’s 33 years old, 15-2 with 9 wins inside the distance and he’s been on the UFC roster since 2018, believe it or not. The fact nothing really stands out in the memory about him isn’t a great sign but, to be fair, he’s on a six fight win streak coming into this fight. He’s not currently in the rankings but he’s definitely earned a shot against a ranked opponent at this point. Time to sink or swim and see what he’s about. Figgy’s at #6 in the rankings currently so a win here for Jackson would instantly catapult him into that Top 10. At 33, it’s now or never. Looking back through his record, he hasn’t even faced anyone on Figgy’s level, much less beat them. So this is a big step up for him. His two losses came against Ricky Simon and Brett Johns, with the last loss being in 2020. Since then he’s rattled off six wins, three by KO/TKO, but the best wins were over an old and one-dimensional Rani Yahya, an 18 second KO over Da’Mon Blackshear and a decision over Daniel Marcos. Not a glittering resume but he wasn’t exactly given the opportunity to face a big name until now. It’s one of them where I’ve got to favour Figgy. He’s by far the more tested and proven of the two, a former champion etc. But taking into account his age and him coming off an injury, those x-factors make this more interesting. It’s an important one for Figgy, especially at this point in his career. If he wins he doesn’t really gain much, but if he loses a fight like this people are gonna be calling for him to retire. Might look like a routine fight at first glance but it’s a must win for Figgy if he’s hoping to stick around at any kind of meaningful level.

 

Vicente Luque vs Joel Alvarez is a late card change. Was supposed to be Luque against Santiago Ponzinibbio in a bit of a depressing matchup of formerly exciting scrappers who are now damaged goods. Ponzinibbio dropped out, Alvarez stepped in. And I think this is bad news for Luque. Like I said, the Ponz fight was a bit sad to me at this point but at least they’re both kind of equally knackered so it was fair matchmaking in a fucked up way. With Alvarez as the replacement though, this feels like it’s probably ending badly for Luque. I keep banging on about it every time Luque fights these days but his issues have been well documented. I take pretty much zero enjoyment out of watching him compete ever since he had the brain bleed a few years ago. We all know the risks these guys take but I get an extra uncomfortable feeling seeing him out there and knowing that. He’s coming into this fight off a submission loss to Kevin Holland at UFC 316 in June.

Spain’s Alvarez is 32 years old and has a record of 22-3 with a 100% finish rate. In his 25 career fights he’s only ever gone the distance once. He’s a serious finisher, a real ‘do or die’ type and a lot of fun to watch. And if you go back over his last eight fights, his only loss came against Arman Tsarukyan. Since then he’s gone 3-0 with a submission over Marc Diakiese and back-to-back KO/TKOs over Elves Brener and Drakkar Klose. He doesn’t fuck about. He absolutely blitzed Klose last time out. The Brener fight was more of an impressive overall performance where he broke Brener down and got the late finish. That Klose fight was a mugging though, just smashed him in under three minutes. The interesting twist here though, is this’ll be Alvarez’s Welterweight debut. It’s been a long time coming really. The only real negatives that have hung over his career so far have been injuries and the fact he’s had issues making weight. I guess there is an x-factor there. You never know how someone’s gonna do going up in weight so I don’t know if that aspect is good or bad for Luque. I suppose there’s a chance Alvarez’s power isn’t as much of a factor at 170 and that could help Luque. Or maybe the extra weight will just make Alvarez even more lethal and Luque gets crushed badly like I fear he might.

 

Jhonata Diniz vs Mario Pinto. Might be a surprise to some but this is actually ***WAND’S ONE TO WATCH*** this time. Yeah, it’s Heavyweight and I’m usually fully ready to dump all over anything to do with that wasteland of a division. I’m kind of intrigued by this though. Diniz is whatever. He’s Brazilian, 34 years old and 9-1 with 7 knockouts. He’s probably going nowhere but I don’t recall him boring me yet. He suffered his first defeat last November at MSG, losing by doctor stoppage after Marcin Tybura made a bloody mess of him. He came back in June and beat Alvin Hines in what I remember being a fairly entertaining big man brawl. It’s Pinto I’m more interested in here though.

That’s how his UFC debut ended back in March. That KO was wasted on the Apex. Just smoked Austen Lane in absolutely devastating fashion. Pinto actually got dropped before that but came out guns blazing in the second round and wiped Lane out. Pinto’s Portuguese born but from London, 27 years old and undefeated at 10-0 with 7 finishes. As always with the Heavies, you have to manage your expectations. With guys this size almost anyone can land a KO shot like that on any given night. So no point getting carried away prematurely. He could turn out to be just another useless big lump. But it was a hell of a finish for his debut and he’s unbeaten and young enough that there’s definitely some potential there. We’ll see.

 

Ricardo Ramos vs Kaan Ofli. Not arsed. Not even saying it’ll be a shit fight I’ve just got no real opinions on it. Ramos is 30 years old, 17-7 and has lost three of his last four. Had a couple of cool spinning elbow finishes years ago, one against Aiemann Zahabi, but it’s not looking great for him these days. He lost to Chepe Mariscal on points in his last fight. Ofli’s Australian, 32 years old and 11-4 with 7 finishes. He’s had two fights in the UFC and gone 0-2 so far against Mairon Santos and Muhammad Naimov.

 

Lucas Almeida vs Michael Aswell. Don’t know. Almeida’s been hit and miss in the UFC and I don’t think I’ve seen Aswell fight yet. Fuck knows? Almeida’s 34 years old, 15-4 with 14 finishes and coming off a split decision loss to Danny Silva in March where he also missed weight. Not great. I do remember him having a really fun scrap with Mike Trizano in his UFC debut back in 2022, which he won by TKO, but he’s been floundering since. Aswell’s 24 with a record of 10-3 and 5 knockouts. Made his UFC debut at the Apex in May, losing on points to Bolaji Oki. I skipped nearly all of that card so never saw it but, for context, Aswell did take that fight on just three days notice.

 

Jafel Filho vs Clayton Carpenter. Decent little Flyweight fight for the prelims. Filho’s 32 years old and 16-4 with 15 finishes. Coming off a points loss to Allan Nascimento in May but Filho’s been fun to watch the times I’ve seen him, win or lose. Even the loss in his debut against Muhammad Mokaev, he had Mokaev in some bother with a nasty kneebar at one point. One thing about him is he tries to make shit happen. Carpenter I’m a bit more hazy on but he’s 29 with a 8-1 record. Lost for the first time last time out against Tagir Ulanbekov in January but had submitted his first two UFC opponents. Side note but any time I see his name I think of Clay ‘The Carpenter’ Guida. Feel like Clayton really should make his nickname ‘The Guida’ just for a laugh.

 

Vitor Petrino vs Thomas Petersen. Three Heavyweight fights on one card? Really? Do the matchmakers hate us that much? Hopefully this is a squash match for Petrino because I can’t be doing with Petersen. He’s 30 years old (rough paper round), 10-3 and coming off a decision win over Don’Tale Mayes in May. Also has a decision win over Mohammed Usman and a decision loss to Jamal Pogues. These were fights that would make you wanna poke your own eyes out with a rusty nail. Only reprieve in amongst the sea of mind numbing plodfests was when he got decked in a round by the mighty Shamil Gaziev. This is the level we’re dealing with when it comes to Petersen.

Petrino should do the right thing and spare us here by just bulldozing this big ham and egger (with extra ham and extra eggs by the look of him) quick time. He really should as well if he’s got anything about him. I’m not sure about Petrino though. He certainly looks the part and he’s still very young by Heavyweight standards at only 28 years old. But this is a guy who got guillotined in two minutes by a washed up Anthony Smith at 205 just last year. I’m having trouble shaking that memory. He also got waffled into oblivion by Dustin Jacoby in his fight after that before he decided to knock weight cutting on the head and move up to Heavyweight. He subbed Austen Lane in a round in his HW debut in July. Not convinced he amounts to much at HW based on those couple of losses at LHW but we’ll see how it goes. Maybe the weight cut was a factor. He can’t be losing to Petersen though if he’s expecting to make a proper run in the division.

 

Irina Alekseeva vs Bia Mesquita. I’ll give it a chance for Mesquita’s debut but I’m not expecting much. She’s Brazilian, 34 years old and 5-0 in MMA. She’s a second degree BJJ black-belt with medals coming out of her ears, subbed Mackenzie Dern in a minute in a Jiu-Jitsu match in 2017 etc. Obviously a late transition to MMA but we’ll see. Akekseeva’s Russian, 35 years old and has a record of 5-3. Nicknamed ‘Russian Ronda’ due to her background in Judo. So this could be interesting if it’s mostly grappling, I guess. Alekseeva’s been shite in the UFC though. Won her debut but missed weight, then she’s lost back-to-back decisions against Melissa Mullins and Klaudia Sygula.

 

Lucas Rocha vs Stewart Nicoll is another one I don’t have any real thoughts on. Haven’t seen enough of either to form much of an opinion really. Rocha’s Brazilian, 25 years old and 17-2 with 14 not making it to the scorecards. He’s fought once in the UFC, making his debut back in October, and he got submitted by Clayton Carpenter. Nicoll’s Aussie, 30 years old and 8-1 with 7 finishes. He’s also only fought once in the UFC and got subbed by Jesus Aguilar in a round. Nothing else even to add.

 

Julia Polastri vs Karolina Kowalkiewicz isn’t doing much for me but could be watchable. Polastri had a surprisingly entertaining fight with Loopy Godinez on the Mexico City card in March. She lost on points but she made a good scrap of it. She’s 27 years old, 13-5 with 7 finishes and she was actually born in Rio so she’ll have the crowd on side here. Kowalkiewicz turns 40 just a few days after this fight and she’s on her last legs in her career now. She had that horrible five fight losing streak a few years ago and it was nice to see her rebound from that with four straight wins. But that’s came to an end now and she’s coming into this fight on back-to-back decision losses to Iasmin Lucindo and Denise Gomes here. She seems lovely but if she loses again here it’s surely time to pull the plug. It’s not like she’s getting destroyed out there but why let it get to that point?

 

Saimon Oliveira vs Luan Lacerda has been casually chucked onto the card just a couple of weeks out from the show. An all Brazilian Bantamweight battle. Not much to say about this. Oliveira’s 34 years old, 18-6 with 16 finishes and he’s gone winless at 0-3 so far in the UFC. In his last fight he got stopped in a round by David Martinez on the Mexico card in March. Barely even remember Lacerda. He’s 32 years old, 12-3 with 10 submissions and he’s also yet to taste victory in the UFC, he’s 0-2 and hasn’t fought since June 2023. Both are submission specialists, most of Oliveira’s finishes came via sub as well, so maybe this’ll be a fun grappling sprint.

 

 

Good card but lacks Norma Dumont…

Edited October 11, 2025 by wandshogun09

[Dai]

The main event is a classic "Impossible to be bad" match. Can see it being a five round war, but as you said, this is a very quick turnaround. I just rewatched the Topuria KO, and it was actually nastier than I remembered. A proper out cold, hit the back of your head on the canvas, KO, with some nasty follow up shots too. To fight 3 months after that seems insane, and actually should not be allowed I dont think. Surely it should be months before hes even allowed to train again after that.

 

I did some digging into Montel Jackson, as I thought it must have been a typo when you said hes been in the UFC since 2018 as Ive never seen or heard of him before this post. What a strange situation...the guy has NEVER been on a main card since his debut. When you think of some of the shite you see on the main cards over the last few years, then that seems mental. Hes spent half of his time on the low end of the prelims, and the other half on the early prelims. His last fight was against a guy who has no Wikipedia page, and he couldnt even get on the main card of a low quality 6 fight Fight Night show. Yet here he is in a co main event against Figgy. Crazy stuff, and I wonder why Figgy even took such a fight. 

[wandshogun09]

3 hours ago, Dai said:

Crazy stuff, and I wonder why Figgy even took such a fight. 

Yeah it’s a weird one really. All I can think is that Figgy just wanted on this card because it’s in Brazil and probably told the UFC he’d fight anyone. So they gave him just anyone. I was thinking something like a Sean O’Malley fight would make sense for Figgy next but I didn’t think we’d be seeing him at all until probably next year after the injury in his last fight. 

[Zebra Kid Mark]

I definitely had that same deja vu feeling when I saw Santiago vs Luque listed, I would have bet a lot of money that they had already fought, I was sure they headlined a fight night many years back.

 

[wandshogun09]

Well this is shite news to wake up to. Fiziev’s out of the main event. Seeing rumours that Benoit Saint Denis is stepping in, which to be fair would be a cracking replacement if true. And he just fought in Paris and didn’t really take any damage so should still be fairly sharp. I might actually like that more than the Fiziev fight, to be honest. 

[Dai]

Ah that's shitty news, but if what you say is true, then BSD falls in to the same category of it being an impossible to be bad fight as well. 

[wandshogun09]

Benoit Saint Denis is now saying he’s not gonna be taking the fight. His team said;

”We respect Oliveira far too much to take him on like this. This kind of fight needs preparation”.

Which is totally fair enough and I’m usually the first to say fighters jumping in on short notice isn’t always a good move and shouldn’t be expected of all fighters just because some fighters have done well doing it. But…Saint Denis literally said this on Helwani’s show just a couple of weeks ago after beating Ruffy in Paris…

”I will accept any opportunity the UFC gives me to fight somebody in the Top 10. I’m ready to step up. I’m even looking at Oliveira vs Fiziev, if somebody gets injured.”

He seemed like the best option by far, both as a fun stylistic opponent for Charles and because he’s just fought so would still be relatively dialled in compared to someone else just jumping in last minute. My guess now is maybe Gamrot steps in. He’s been waiting for an opportunity like this against a big name and he seems to live in the gym. 

If it’s not Gamrot, I’m not sure who else they can realistically get on this kind of notice. Holloway’s out the rest of the year with a hand injury, Gaethje’s not gonna take it, I’m sure Hooker’s still on the injured list and Tsarukyan and Paddy would be mad to jump in because they’re surely the front runners to challenge for the title next. Not to mention the fact that Tsarukyan just beat Oliveira last year, and Paddy is out of camp so probably weighs about 400lbs right now. 

Edited September 21, 2025 by wandshogun09

[Bruce85]

It’s not the strongest card anyway but if they can’t get someone to step in to face Oliveira it’s going to be a really poor card. I think Figgy main eventing in Brazil would be fine if he had a better opponent. 

Surpised BSD won’t take the fight, I know last minute fights are risky but this could be a good way to get him right back up the ranks. I can’t see him getting a higher ranked opponent than Oliveria. 

[Kfogg1991]

Yeah this is a giant blow like it's said above it's not strong anyway if they don't replace with a suitable fighter I can't think what will replace for that one the co-main is not good enough to top the bill 

[Carbomb]

Would it be worth their while persuading someone like Yair Rodriguez to come up to LW for the match? 

[Carbomb]

Right, for some bizarre reason, my last post has been posted after I thought it was lost.

Edited September 22, 2025 by Carbomb
Grzegorz Lato

[wandshogun09]

Charles vs Yair sounds like a fun random fight but I can’t see it happening myself. Yair’s very picky about fights he takes, he’s got a history of declining fights at 145 and he’s one of them like Gane, Chandler and Pena who always seems to think he deserves a title shot in his next fight. I’d be absolutely amazed if he accepted a fight a weight class up, on a couple of weeks notice and in the opponent’s backyard. I’d be surprised if they go outside the 155 division for a replacement but you never know, I suppose. If he hadn’t fought so recently I’d say this could be a great opportunity for Brian Ortega to jump up and finally sack that weight cut to 145 off for good. But I doubt that happens either.

Latest development on all this is that Oliveira’s pissed off because fighters are supposedly saying they’re up for stepping in on social media, then declining the fight when the UFC call. Obviously Saint Denis is one example and I know Moicano posted something and he’s got form for posting publicly that he’ll step in and then not ending up taking the fight, so he’s probably another. Not sure if there’s anyone else Oliveira is referring to.

But there’s been a glimmer of hope because my pick Gamrot has been pushing hard for the fight.

So he’s a fairly highly ranked Lightweight (#8), he’s actually higher ranked than the original opponent Fiziev (#10), he genuinely seems up for the fight and he’s fine with the short notice and it being on Oliveira’s home soil. Perfect.

Problem now is, apparently for all the talk above, Charles isn’t keen on the Gamrot fight!

Jesus wept. Proper shit show. Again, I get why Charles would be pissed off having trained for a striker in Fiziev and then potentially having it switched three weeks out to a grappler in Gamrot. But if you’re gonna shit on the whole division for talking and not backing it up, you can’t really start declining the replacements who are willing to step up.

Saw a tweet earlier that, as of right now, with the Oliveira vs Fiziev fight being off, there’s currently no fighter in the Top 15 of the Lightweight rankings who has a fight booked. Not one ranked fighter with a fight scheduled! That’s crazy. Don’t know what’s going on with Topuria’s next fight. Or Gaethje. Or Tsarukyan. Or Pimblett. Seems like they’re all just sitting on the sidelines waiting for something to drop in their lap. Gaethje, Tsarukyan and Paddy all think they deserve a title shot next and Topuria’s too busy calling out Makhachev and Bud Fucking Crawford! Sick of this bollocks. 

[wandshogun09]

You know what @Carbomb this bit…

5 hours ago, wandshogun09 said:

I’d be surprised if they go outside the 155 division for a replacement

That bit might be me chatting shite. Maybe you’re right. Diego Lopes is on about jumping up to Lightweight to step in against Oliveira now.

I’m not getting my hopes up with any of this anymore. There’s been that many names chucked about I don’t know what to believe. But if we end up with Oliveira vs Lopes I think that’s an upgrade from the original Fiziev fight for me. 

[Carbomb]

To be honest, the only reason I didn't mention Lopes is that he's only recently fought. Otherwise, I think he would've been one of my first thoughts as being up for it.

[wandshogun09]

True. Although the flip side of that is, because he’s just fought he’s still sharp and in shape. He hasn’t got to get in fight shape first and, I don’t know what weight he walks around at, but he’s got an easier cut to make 155.

He did take some digs off Jean Silva, which could be cause for concern, but he mustn’t have felt that was anything major if he’s up for this. Probably got a sore elbow more than anything from bouncing it off Silva’s bonce.

Fuck knows whether it’ll happen but I’m fully on board for Oliveira vs Lopes. And I think Oliveira’s much more likely to accept that than the Gamrot fight, just because Lopes’ style is more up his alley on short notice. If it does happen though I feel bad for Gamrot. If Oliveira doesn’t end up fighting him, after Gamrot was seemingly trying his hardest to secure the fight and was already conceding disadvantages with the lack of prep time and fighting in Oliveira’s backyard, it won’t be a good look for Charles to me. It’s nowhere near the worst duck we’ve ever seen (**cough** JON JONES!!! **cough**) given the short notice and stuff, but I would consider it a duck.