It has been a decade since Charles Oliveira lost consecutive fights, and though it’s happened a couple times during his career, he’s never dropped back-to-back outings when competing at lightweight.
None of those things made me less antsy about “Do Bronxs” returning to action in October following his punishing knockout loss to Ilia Topuria in June. I liked it a little less when Mateusz Gamrot tagged in for the injured Rafael Fiziev, but fighting in Rio de Janeiro for the first time in his UFC career, Oliveira kept both of those streaks intact by storming through his Polish counterpart and collecting his record-extending 21st finish and 17th submission victory inside the Octagon.
A lot of people, me included, expected this to be a hard-fought battle between two well-rounded veterans with a preference for engaging in the grappling realm. Instead, Oliveira stood head and shoulders above Gamrot, outclassing him on the canvas and securing a second-round finish to get himself right back into the win column and show he still has something left in the tank.
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Because he hasn’t risen to being a full-blown contender in the UFC, people tend to forget how good Gamrot is, but “Gamer” was 25-3 with one no contest heading into the fight and had never been finished, with two of his three losses coming by split decision, and Oliveira schooled him.
I’ll be honest: I was anxious about the Brazilian legend’s future after his loss to Topuria, as it was a hellacious knockout, but I have zero worries going forward. And if we do get Oliveira and Max Holloway for the BMF title next year… I don’t even know…. I don’t have words, just high-pitched squeaks of giddy excitement.
Honorable Mentions: Ramiz Brahimaj vs Austin Vanderford, Youssef Zalal vs Josh Emmett, Jafel Filho vs Clayton Carpenter, Kaan Ofli vs Ricardo Ramos, Valter Walker vs Louie Sutherland